All for One, One for All: Beginnings
by Muse Lord Mai-chan
Summary: Link was the only Swordsman at the Smash Mansion. That is until Marth, Roy, and Katan of the Dread Isles arrived! Follow the swordmasters through love, melee, murder, and secret plots. The Murderer has been discovered, the End has come... Or has it?
1. Marth, Prince of Altea

**I don't know how this will turn out, it might become a shounen-ai.** If you don't like it... don't attack me with boards, and I love flames! (Lights match just to watch it burn) Oh, and just so you know, I'm a PYROMANIAC! Ahahahahaha…ha…ha…haha… erm… right…

Silence

Psst, Ardath, that's your queue

Ardath: Oh, it is?

Roy: Why do I get the feeling you're an idiot?

Ardath: glares, draws sword...

Roy: Eep!

Marth: Roy, you are the idiot. You should never insult a lovely lady! Sweeps Aru up in his arms

Ardath: What about me? cries

Marth: I'm sorry Milady. puts Aru down, kisses Ardath on the hand

Roy: twitches, slowly backs away

Okay, on to the story then!

Roy: Wait! Aru doesn't own anything but her ideas, Ardath, Aru, her computer... and she really wishes she owned me and Marth.

Or just the games you guys are in. But they haven't been released the the Cursed country known sadly as the United States.

Ardath, Roy, Marth, Me: On to the Story! charges at computer

**Chapter One: Marth, Prince of Altea**

"Link! Link!"

Link slept on, his dreams showing Zelda yelling his name. But her voice was more like a boys' voice, if a bit younger…

"LINK! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED!" Link sat straight up, his eyes wide as saucers. His eyes flew to the door, which was emanating a rather annoying banging.

"Alright, alright, I'm up…" Link stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

"Link, you have five minutes before the new Smasher is introduced!" came Young Link's voice. "You'd better hurry, or Zelda and Peach will have your head."

Link jump out of bed, grabbing his clothes in a rush. He didn't want to be late for the introductions!

Link hurried into the main hall, where everyone ate or meetings were held. Excited whispers were all around him as the other smashers awaited the new addition to their ranks. Those who weren't whispering excitedly were usually the ex-villains, such as Gannondorf, Bowser, or Mewtwo. Then there was Samus Aran who wasn't a talker at all.

"Hey! Link! Over here!" came a high-pitched girl's voice. He turned and saw his friend Zelda, along with his younger counterpart, Young Link. Next to Zelda sat Peach, and next to her, Mario. Mario wasn't exactly a friend of Link's, but they got together just fine. Link grinned, then hurried over and sat down at his place, his breakfast already there and getting cold.

Just as Link was finishing his breakfast, the hall went silent. Standing on the stage near the front of the hall was Master Hand, the master of the Smash Mansion. Behind him was a twitching hand; that was Crazy Hand, Master Hand's brother. Next to Master Hand was a young man. He had dark blue hair and dark blue eyes with navy colored armor and cape. On his head was a golden tiara. At his side was a long sword. Link's eyes lit up. So far, he was the only Swordsman, seeing as Young Link was himself and younger. He would finally have someone to have a sword fight with!

"Well, it seems I didn't need to get your attention now, did I?" Master Hand spook with his deep booming voice. (A/N I always imagined him with a deep voice) "Anyways, it's time to introduce our newest member. This is Marth, Prince of Altea. Marth, welcome to the Super Smash Brothers Mansion."

Marth smiled serenely, almost feminine like. "Thank you, sir. I'm honored." He bowed to Master Hand.

Master Hand turned back to the audience. His gaze swept over the Smashers, when he stopped and lingered on Link. "Link, please approach the stage.

Link felt honored. He had been asked to do the same when Zelda had joined the Smashers. He stood and marched up to the stage, jumping nimbly onto it as if it were only an inch high off the ground rather than three feet.

"Link, would you be so kind to help Marth out for the first few days?" Master Hand asked him as the audience started to chat again, this time with more excitement.

"Sure, it would be a pleasure." Link grinned at Marth. Marth nodded back. "Hello, I'm Link, Hero of Time."

"And I'm Marth, EX-prince of Altea." Marth put emphasis on the "Ex". Link only nodded.

"Here, have you had breakfast yet?" Link led the way off stage, back towards his group, who waited eagerly.

"Yes, I have. It was rather good too. Master Hand said someone named "Peach" cooked it." Marth answered thoughtfully.

"Ah, Peach. You'll meet her here in a moment." Link winked at the blue haired warrior. Marth smiled back.

They finally arrived at the table, having stopped several times as Smashers introduced themselves to Marth, who in return, introduced himself. Link had waited patiently each time, but his friends were looking more and more impatient. But finally, they would have to wait no longer.

"Hi there." Marth gave a small wave, sitting down next to Link.

"Hello! I'm Peach!" Peach squeaked.

"It's-a me, Mario!" Mario gave Marth his signature peace sign.

"I'm Zelda." Zelda nodded to Marth. In a poof, in Zelda's place was a man with a half covered face. "And I'm Zelda's counterpart, Sheik." Sheik's blood red eyes gleamed.

"And I'm Young Link! I'm Link when he was younger!" Young Link jumped in his seat excitedly.

"It's nice to meet you all. And thank you for breakfast, Peach." Marth smiled. Peach smiled a dazzling smile at him, her bright white teeth seemingly glowing.

Breakfast was done quickly, and the crowd dispersed to find something to do, since there wasn't a tournament going on. Link led Marth into the hall.

"Well, I guess we'll start with a tour of the building. First, let's find your room…"

Link led the way to the stairs. "Here's the stairs leading to the upstairs where the bedrooms are, and the third floor where the Melee Battles are held. On the first floor are the library, the main hall, the training room, the trophy room, and several common rooms. There's also an elevator down the hall…"

"Hey Link. What's an elevator?" Marth asked.

"Oh, I forgot that you're from a medieval era. An elevator is sort of like… a… um…" Link thought for a moment. "Well, it will take you to any level of the Mansion you want, including the basement, though there isn't really any reason to go into the basement. I prefer the stairs, for the elevator gives your stomach a weird feeling."

"Oh, okay. I get it…" Marth nodded.

"We'll have Mewtwo or Ness input how to use the advanced technology later." (A/N cuz I'm too lazy to type out how Marth learns how to use modern technology! . ;)

Marth only raised his eye at this, but didn't comment. The two swordsmen took their lovely time going to the second level. From there, they started down the hall, looking at the names on the doors. Each name block was decorated by who ever the name belonged to. Link's block with his name was decorated with several swords, arrows, bows, plants, and the Tri force symbol. Peach's block was decorated with lots and lots of flowers. Young Link's block was decorated similar to Link's block, but it looked more childish than the smooth graceful decorations of his older counterpart. Zelda's room had two blocks on it. One was Zelda's, the other Sheik's. Sheik's was rather plain, with several weapons, and most of the sign was black, while Zelda's was covered with elegant plant designs.

Marth's room was between Samus's room and an empty room. His block was plain, still not decorated. "Once you get settled in, you can decorate your name sign. If you need help with it, just ask Samus, or me, or anyone. But I warn you to stay away from Bowser or Gannondorf. Mewtwo or Falco probably won't be much help either. Here, lets see how your room turned out.

The room had been prepared in advance for the Prince. The walls were a navy blue with gold trim along the corners. At the end of the room, there were a couple of windows and a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Only a few of the rooms had balconies, and Marth was lucky enough to get one. Link hadn't gotten one, so he often used Zelda and Sheik's balcony when he wanted to stand outside, with their permission, of course. There were two beds in the room, one with blue blankets, and the other with gold. Each room had two beds, for what reason, no one knew. The second bed was commonly used as a place to sleep during a sleep over. Others used it to put their stuff. Some had put the extra bed in the basement, while some just left theirs alone.

In a corner of the room there was a mahogany desk with quill pens and scrolls. Near the door was a closet, and next to the closet was a bathroom. There were shelves in several places in the room, each one empty.

Marth's stuff was already sitting on the blue bed. Marth went into the bathroom. Link turned away, thinking he was going to use the bathroom, when another question arose from the Prince. "What's this?" Marth was pointing at the toilet. "And that, and that?" he pointed at the sink, and the bath tub/shower.

"Those are a toilet, a shower, and a sink. The toilet is where you, um, do your business, the sink is where you wash your hands and brush your teeth, and the shower is where you wash."

"Oh." Marth gave the bathroom one last look before walking out. "Well, I'll unpack in a while. First, why don't you show me around?"

"Right." Link turned and led the way back to the stairs. "You can tell whose room is whose, for their names are on the door. The upstairs will have to wait until you met with one of the psychics, for there's too much advanced stuff up there. You know what, let's go see Ness right now. It's going to be a pain in the rear to try and show you around." Link told Marth.

"I feel stupid, seeing as I don't know a lot of this stuff like everyone else." Marth mumbled darkly.

Link laughed. "Naw, it took me a while to figure everything out, even with Ness's help! And you seem to be learning a lot faster than I did."

"Oh, I feel better now." Marth laughed. He followed Link down the hallway until they reached Ness's room. Link knocked. "Ness! Are you there? We need you to teach Marth advanced technology." Link called to the door.

The door opened to nobody. Looking down, Link and Marth spotted Ness, looking at them. "I still don't see why you call it 'Advanced Technology.' It's all modern technology." Ness growled at Link. It wasn't a growl of dislike, rather a friendly playful growl.

"Not for me." Link returned. "Its all still advanced for me."

Ness chuckled, then turned to Marth. "Ah, the newest member of the Smashers. Marth, Ex-prince of Altea, banished from his kingdom by the enemy who gained control of the throne. Welcome."

Marth's eyes bulged. "How did you know that? I haven't even told Master Hand!" Marth sounded amazed.

"I'm psychic. I can read minds. Anyways, come in. Ness pushed the door back, revealing his room. To a modern day person, this room looked like any seven-year-old boy's room. The ceiling was decorated with stars, there were alien action figures on the shelves, and the wall was a bright orange. In one corner, there was a home run bat, and several baseball flags were posted on the wall. Marth and Link sat down on some chairs that Ness kept in his room for this kind of occasion.

"So, Marth, I'm Ness. And I'm going to insert into your head the information needed to survive in this mansion, included and not limited to flushing toilets, turning on lights, working a faucet, using a TV, etc etc…" Ness looked to Marth to see if he was following. Marth looked a bit lost, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Now, the transfer may feel a bit weird, but it won't feel like it for long. And soon, you'll be like Link here, trying to figure out how a light bulb works by flipping a switch." Ness then reached out and touched Marth's head.

Marth cringed as the transfer began. At one point, his eye began to twitch, which led to Link and Ness trying not to laugh. But after a silent moment, Ness pulled his hand away.

"How do you feel, Marth?" Ness asked.

"I feel like I just got hit in the head with a sling stone." Marth raised his hand to his head. "But it seems to be going away."

"A sling stone, eh? Well, do you feel any smarter? Not that you weren't already smart… And like I said, the feeling won't last long." Ness went into his closet, and soon came back with remote control for a little TV tucked away in the closet. The TV was now in plain sight.

"Here, turn the TV on." Ness gave Marth the remote. Marth scrutinized it for a moment, then held it out, pressing a big red button that said "POWER."

The TV came on with a pop, and a baseball game came into view. Ness's eyes bulged. "Oh my god, I'm missing a game! Okay, you've pasted the test, go ahead and leave anytime you want!" Ness tore the controller from Marth's grip and turned up the volume. Marth gave Ness a confused look for a moment, then stood.

"Well, lets leave Ness to his 'game'." Marth whispered to Link before heading for the door. Link followed silently.

Back in the hall, the two swordsmen headed downstairs. They came to the training room first.

"This is the training room. Everyone comes here to train for tournaments or to just get stronger." Link explained.

Marth looked around. Captain Falcon was already in the room, beating the sand out of the punching bag. In a corner, Luigi and Yoshi were doing a bit of friendly sparring. Marth watched them for a moment, before turning back to Link. "Okay, where to next?"

"Follow me." Link started down the hall again, Marth on his heels. They came to the door way to the Main Hall. "This is the Main Hall, where meetings are held and where everyone eats their meals, unless they feel like going somewhere else." Link explained.

Marth stared at the hall a moment, then nodded. Link then started to one of the common rooms. "There are several common rooms through out the first floor. Some are used for parties, for relaxing, for doing… whatever. Besides training." Link stopped at the door way to one. Samus was in this one, polishing her cannon. She paused momentarily to look at the two in the doorway before she went back to polishing.

"Next is the library, where we go to read. Well, some of us. That doesn't include me." Link pointed out stiffly. "I've never been much of one to read."

Marth smiled knowingly. The two swordsmen trudged down the hall, when Marth stopped. "Hey Link."

"Yeah Marth?" Link stopped and turned to see Marth looking a bit confused.

"Well, if Ness or this Mewtwo fellow could just put information into my head, why didn't Ness put the information about this building into my head? It would be easier than showing me around."

Link smiled, remembering how he had asked Peach, who had shown him around, and later when Zelda had asked him. It must be the question all new smashers asked. "You know, when I first came here, I asked the same thing. Peach only smiled at me, and didn't answer. I soon found out for myself why she didn't answer. Now its up to you to figure it out."

Marth gave Link a pout face. "Aww, that's not fair."

"Yes it is." Link grinned back. He then skipped into the library. In here was Mewtwo. Of the twenty-five smashers, Mewtwo was one of the few who actually used the library. The other regular users were Peach, Zelda, Ness, Samus, Fox, and Falco. "That's Mewtwo." Link whispered to Marth as he arrived in the doorway. Marth nodded in acknowledgment.

The two swordsmen continued throughout the mansion, taking their sweet time exploring the rooms. By the time they finally finished the tour it was nearly dinnertime. Link had Marth lead the way to the Main Hall to test his memory. After several miss turns, the two swordsmen finally got to the Main Hall, their stomachs growling rather audibly.

"Hey Link, Marth, over here!" Zelda called, putting emphasis on the 'here'. She waved at them rather dramatically.

The two sat down, Link next to Zelda, and Marth between Link and Young Link. "So, how were your adventures around the Mansion?" Peach asked sweetly.

"It was great! There was so much new and interesting things here I wouldn't have even dreamed of seeing back in Altea!" Marth grinned.

"And I rediscovered most of the downstairs. I still have to show Marth the Trophy Room." Link winked at Zelda. Zelda rolled her eyes with a wide smile.

"I think I'd like to accompany you on your final trip. Then it will have to be off to your room to unpack. The tournament won't be held until we get two more new smashers, so you'll have plenty of time to train." Peach explained.

"I will accompany you too." Zelda smiled. She suddenly turned to her alter ego.

"I'll be there anyways." Sheik shrugged indifferently before switching back to Zelda.

"I will-a come too." Mario offered.

"Well, it seems we're going to have a whole army of people coming." Marth grinned some more, looking a little bit overwhelmed.

The visit to the Trophy Room turned out uneventful. The crowd dispersed to their rooms, getting ready for bed. Link escorted Marth to his room.

"Well, Good night, Marth." Link waved.

"Night Link!" Marth waved back before disappearing into his new room. Link smiled, then disappeared into his own room for a well deserved sleep.

* * *

Well? How was it? R&R and I'll reward you with a new chapter...and/or cookies... And if you want to flame me, remember: I am a pyromaniac just like Roy. I LOVE Fire. Use a board to say you dislike my work, and don't make fun of fire! hugs a match I will respond to all reviewers! Anonymous Reviewers, leave your e-mail address, or email me, and I will reply asap! Fanks For Reading!  



	2. Pherae and the Dread Isles

Wo0t! Another chapter!

Ardath: (Claps)

Roy: Yay! I'm in this chapter!

Marth: Yay! I'm also in this chapter!

Ardath: You already were, dimwit.

Link: Hey, now, Ardath, no name calling.

Ardath: Cough cough Oh sorry, O lord of the Greenies

(greeniesdoesnotbelongtoaruthepryomaniac,andisadogtreattofreshendogbreath)

I dare you to read that. First person to tell me what it says wins a cookie

Roy: a virtual cookie with me on it!

Marth: What about me?

Link: And me?

Shut up and disclaim someone.

Izu: Aru the Pryomaniac doesn't own anything except her ideas and her OCs(me, Ardath, the OCs in this story, etc etc). Super Smash Bros Melee is owned by Nintendo, which will someday be taken over by Aru.

Ardath: In her dreams. Hi Izu!

Roy: Maybe I'll get a star role then in some wacked up game...

Thank you to my two reviewers, Psie and Linksworstnightmare! Kudos and Cookies to both of you! Now here's Chapter two!

* * *

**Chapter Two: Pherae and the Dreaded Isles**

"Link! Linky! Wakey wakey, O Greeny!" came Marth's voice, disturbing Link's dream. Link sat up, his hair a mess. It had been three weeks already since Marth's arrival at the Smasher Mansion. The two swordsmen were rarely seen apart. Marth, being an early riser, always came to wake Link at seven o'clock sharp. Link swore that he timed his waking.

Link grabbed some clothes, not checking to see if they were clean or not, and opened the door. Marth grinned. "I have a fight today! Finally!"

Link smiled at the Prince's excitement. This would be his first real match against a bonified smasher. "Who are you smashing?"

"Mario. He doesn't feel that I'm ready for anyone else yet." Marth shrugged. "Not that I care."

"Ah, well, Master Hand wanted me to do something for him this morning. I'm going straight to his office, 'kay?" Link asked. He really did want to see Marth's first match, but Master Hand's job sounded pretty important.

"Well, my match isn't until noon. I'm going to go get some breakfast. See you round?" Marth waved before setting off for the stairs. For some reason, he had something against the elevator. Link didn't blame him.

"See ya!" Link waved, before setting off for Master Hand's office.

The office looked like any other office. There was a desk, two chairs facing the desk, a custom made chair for Master Hand, and papers scattered across the desk with file cabinets in the corner. A separate door led to the secret room were Crazy Hand and Master Hand dwelled.

"Ah, Link, right on time." Master Hand shook a finger at him. "I sure am glad that Marth is there to wake you up."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what's this job you needed me for?" Link asked.

"We have two new smashers coming in later this morning, and I need someone to go escort them. Normally, I would do it, or have Mario do it, but I need his help preparing for a melee challenge today. Would you please go and escort them?"

Link felt his heart flip over. He was actually being entrusted with not only one, but two fresh new smashers! "Yes sir! Will I have time to go grab a bite to eat?"

"Yes. But you shouldn't tell any smasher. Of the other smashers, only you, Mario, and Peach know about these two."

"Yes sir, I'll get right on it." Link stood, and made his way towards the door.

"A couple more things." Master Hand interrupted his departure. "They are both a bit on the shy side. When you arrive, bring them straight here. Do not stop for any of the smashers, including your friends. Hurry along. You only need to wait at the Outer Gate for them. And be fore warned; its cold outside." With that, Master Hand disappeared into his secret bedroom, where a cackle was heard from the crazy brother hand. Link smirked, then headed for the Main Hall with gusto, feeling proud yet secretive of his mission.

"Hey Link! What did Master Hand want?" Sheik called. He waved at Link. Beside him, Marth grinned.

"I bet he's not going to tell us." Marth smirked as he saw the look on Link's face.

"How did you guess?" Link sat down. "I have to go do the job after I eat."

"Aww, you're no fun." Young Link made a pouting face before bounding off to chat with the other youngest smashers.

Link then noticed Samus was sitting next to Peach, looking at him. Her helmet sat beside her as her emerald green eyes bored into the elf.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Link squeezed between Sheik and Marth, ignoring Samus's gaze.

"The most exciting thing in the world." Marth stood up and reached for the ceiling, posing like an idiot. "Scrambled eggs and toast!" he cried with seemingly delight. The group cracked up at his delightful outburst.

Link ate with gusto, for he wanted to get out to the gates as soon as possible. While his friends were laughing at another of Marth's endless jokes, Link slipped out. He quickly made his way for the main door.

Link shut the door behind him quickly. He was hit by a blast of freezing cold winter air. Fog hung heavily in the 'early' morning air, obscuring the usually beautiful gardens and lawn of the Smash Acres. Trotting towards the main gate, Link tried to see through the deep fog, but his sight, thought better than any human's, could not pierce the cold, wet fog. The fog came from a marsh to the north east of the mansion.

Slipping through the main gate, Link made his way towards the outer wall. For some reason, the mansion was heavily fortified. There were two walls, the inner one with a gaping hole up near the bog. The two walls were called the Inner Wall and the Outer Wall. _What original names. _Link thought as he arrived at the outer wall. He slipped through this one, and began his wait.

Link waited half an hour. The fog was barely beginning to lift when Link's sharp hearing, increased by his lack of sight, picked up light tread fall. Sure enough, a dim figure detached itself from the fog.

It was a girl with long burnt obsidian black hair tied back in tight smooth braids. Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, her cheeks and nose slightly rosey from the cold. Her thin figure was wrapped with a warm downy midnight blue cloak with a silver clasp shaped as a flame, peaking out from beneath a warm, white scarf. Her pants were coal black, along with her military style boots. She had steel blue armor beneath the cloak, its golden trim peaking out every so often. At her side was a long thin blade, the pommel bound in golden wire with a large fiery red stone that had its own power emanating from it. The girl's gloves were charred black from working with fire or something of the sort. On her back was a simple traveling pack. On her shoulder, a small creature that looked like a miniature dragon sat. It's scales were a war of whites, silvers, and blacks, its eyes a soft azure.

The girl stopped a ways away from Link, staring at him as if he were death. She started to reach for her sword.

"No, wait! I won't hurt you!" Link smiled harmlessly. She hesitated. "Are you a new smasher?"

"S-smasher?" the girl looked at him as if he were talking in another language.

"Yeah, we have tournaments and beat each other up for the fun of it! We work under Master Hand and his brother, Crazy Hand."

The girl's eyes seemed to light up. "Master Hand! I know him! He said I could have a job at his Smash Mansion. But he didn't say a thing about a 'smasher'."

"Oh, well, that's probably what he meant. Come here, we still have to wait for the other new smasher. By the way, my name's Link."

"My name is Katan." The girl replied shyly. The little dragon squeaked on her shoulder. "And this is Luan. He's actually a half dragon."

"A half dragon?" Link's eyes widened.

"Yes. He has figure out how to take on the form of a dragon."

"I thought I told you not to tell anyone yet!" Luan hissed. He turned his head to Link. "You'd better not tell anyone."

"Um, right. Are you the other…?" Link started to ask when another person approached. The girl let out an audible squeak and hid behind Link as the next person approached.

This time the person was a boy. He had bright red hair that seemed like fire. In contrast, he had sparkling blue eyes. His armor was a neutral blue with bright gold trim. He wore beige pants. At his side was also a sword, this one a broad sword. On his back was an electric purple and red. He wore blue and white boots.

He stopped just like Katan. But he didn't go for his sword. "Is this where the Smasher Mansion is?" the teen asked, rather timidly.

"Yes, you must be the other smasher." Link extended his hand in greeting. "I'm Link, and these two are Katan and Luan."

"I'm General Roy of Pherae." The teen responded. The girl let out a small gasp and the dragon a slight hiss. The two boys looked at the other two, who immediately looked away.

"Well, I think this is everyone. Let's head back before it gets any colder out here." Link opened the gate, and allowed the three through before he past through the gates. They started the easy walk from outer gate to inner gate.

About half way back to the mansion, the fog cleared up, only to start snowing. Katan and Roy both stopped to look up at the snow.

"Wow, it never snows back at home, huh Luan…" Katan asked the dragon.

"Nope…" Luan responded. Roy remained silent.

They stood there a moment longer, then continued to their new life.

"Link!" Marth's voice echoed through the hallway. He slid around the corner, straight into the elf.

"Umph!" Link used his reflexes to remain balanced, but Marth crashed into the wall. Brushing himself off, Link grinned at Marth. "Later, Marth. I have to take these to Master Hand."

Marth looked at them, a look of shock crossing his face. Katan ducked after Link, while Roy looked over his shoulder at Marth, who stared after them.

Link pushed the door open to Master Hand's office. The other three slipped into the office. Along the way, they had attracted a crowd, and the rest of the smashers were grouped up outside.

Link approached Master Hand's secret door. He knocked politely. "Master Hand, I'm back!" he called. The door opened and closed like a lightning bolt. Master Hand locked the door behind him as Crazy Hand let loose a whoop. A crash was heard from the room. Master Hand ignored it, and sat down. Link stood next to him looking important.

"Ah, Lady Katana Ren and Lord Roy Pherae." Master Hand bowed his fingers to them. "How good it is you can join us!"

"Please, Mr. Master Hand, I would like to be called Katan." Katan blushed.

Roy's eyes widened at the mention of Katan's full name, but he didn't comment. "And I would like to be just Roy."

"That's fine. Anyways…"

"Oh, and sir, my friend came along with me." Katan pointed to Luan, who sat on her shoulder. "He wouldn't let me come alone."

Master Hand nodded (A/N don't ask me how he does it.) to Luan, who puffed himself up. "Well, he'll just have to sleep in your spare bed or with another of the smashers. When he's in his human form, I mean."

Luan hissed. "Great. Everyone is going to know." He puffed out a tiny cloud of smoke.

"Well then, let me send the smashers to the Main Hall for a group lunch, where we'll introduce you to everyone and assign you an escort. Link, come along, I don't need anymore help."

Link grinned at the two before exiting the room. Master Hand was right behind him.

"Smashers! Join me in the Main Hall for a group lunch so we can introduce our newest smashers!" Master Hand shouted joyfully, his voice carrying through out the building. "And after that, we have Marth's first melee challenge! It's Marth vs. Mario!"

Shouts of joy filled the mansion as the smashers made their way towards the Main Hall. Group lunches were always the best lunches. Zelda and Marth waited for the crowd to disperse before they surrounded Link.

"Two smashers in one day! That's great, isn't it, Link?" Zelda let out a giggle.

"Oh yes it is, Zel!" Link wrapped his arm around Zelda's thin waist. Marth grinned on his other side.

"Actually, I think I know both of them. All about them, as a matter of fact." He grinned ear to ear.

"Really? How?" Link and Zelda chimed.

"Roy, he's from the continent of Elibe. I've seen him when my father took me to Elibe to talk with the countries there. We went to Bern, Sacae, Ilia, and Lycia, where I met Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood, and Lady Lyndis. Lord Eliwood is Roy's father. We didn't stay long enough for me to get to know him, or Lord Hector's daughter and Lady Lyndis's daughter." (A/N for this story, she married Rath, and had a daughter, Sue)

"Wow, that's interesting…" Zelda commented. "What about the girl?"

"I don't know her name…" Marth started.

"Katana Ren, but she wants to be called Katan." Link told them.

"Katana Ren? Then I do know her… Anyways, on our way back from Elibe, we made a final stop on some island called The Dread Isle. There, we met a man named Matthew, who apparently used to work for Lord Hector, until his love was killed. He lives there so he can be near her grave. He showed us where the "Dragon's Gate" was. On our way back to the ocean, we ran into a traveling duo. A boy and a girl. The girl was about my age, the boy only a toddler, maybe about two years old. Matthew pushed us into the bushes, and we hid from them. After they disappeared towards the Dragon Gate, Matthew told us who they were."

"Katan?" Link asked.

"One of them, yes. I can't remember the boy's name though. Matthew said they were like Ninian and Nils. I remember that Lord Hector and Lady Lyndis talked about a Ninian whenever Eliwood and Roy weren't around. They said they were called the Dragonkin, and that Ninian had died a year earlier and had been Roy's mother and Eliwood's wife."

"So Katan is also from Elibe…" Link thought. They were standing outside the Main Hall now. They trudged to their table, its usual occupants, plus Samus. They then began to nibble on the food, waiting for Master Hand's arrival. Marth was taking special care not to over eat. Finally, Master Hand appeared on the stage.

"Hello Smashers, and welcome to the group lunch! Today we have gathered to announce our final two smashers!" Master Hand was in his place, Roy and Katan behind and to the right, Crazy Hand opposite them, still behind Master Hand, twitching away.

"First is Lady Katan of the Dread Isle!" Katan stepped up with a small wave. Luan still sat on her shoulder, yawning. "And not to forget her young friend, the Dragonkin, Luan. Welcome to the Super Smash Bros Mansion."

Katan curtsied, which caused Luan to loose his balance. He fell to the floor with an audible _plop!_ The audience laughed as Luan flew back to Katan's shoulder, dusting himself off.

After the crowd quieted, Master Hand continued. "And now, Lord Roy of Pherae! Welcome to the Smash Mansion."

"Please, just Roy. And thank you, sir." Roy grinned while stepping up next to Katan. He waved, and got several responses from the younger smashers.

The crowd watched as Master Hand inspected the crowed. The once again stopped on Link's table. This time he was having trouble choosing escorts.

"Samus! Marth! Please approach the stage." he called. Other smashers deflated. Only a handful of smashers were ever chosen to escort the new smashers. Marth looked confused until Samus nudged him as she started towards the front.

"Oh!" he stood up, tripped over the bench and his navy blue cape, and did a face plant onto the marble floor. The Main Hall was filled with laughter. Even Katan, Roy, and Luan burst out laughing.

Marth jumped back up, a grin on his face. He then girl skipped (A/N I'm not a sexist, for I am a GIRL.) to the stage, scrambled up, then stood in front of Master Hand, next to Samus, unsure of what he was supposed to do. (A/N He should have paid more attention to his own orientation and to what Link did.)

"Samus, would you be so kind to show Roy around for the first week or two? And Marth, would you be so kind to show Katan around? I know you have only been here for several weeks, but Link showed you well."

"I would be honored, Sir." Marth grinned.

"Yes, sir, I would also be honored." Samus smiled gently at Roy and Katan.

"Okay then, you can return to your meals. Go ahead and go with them." He 'nodded' to the three new additions.

Samus and Marth helped the two off the stage, while Luan buzzed around Katan's head. They made several stops along the way back to their table. Samus was acting very un-Samus like towards the three newcomers. She would smile at them as they were introduced to other smashers. Link watched patiently while they slowly made their way through the building towards their table.

Finally, the little group made it to the table. Keeping a straight face, Marth made the final introductions. "And here's the worst group of ruffians within a radius of twelve miles or more. Sadly, I call them friends. Of course, you must know Link there." Roy, Katan, and Luan grinned and nodded. "Then there's his girlfriend, Zelda, and his younger self, Young Link." Katan scrutinized the Younger Link for a moment. "And here's Peach. Her boyfriend is the co-leader of the Smashers, Mario. I get to fight him today."

"Hello!" Roy grinned. He was already warming up to the group. So much for being shy, as Master Hand had told Link.

"Hi." Katan smiled sweetly.

"Hey, you forgot about me." Came another voice. Sheik was now where Zelda had been. No one had seen them switch.

"Oh, and Zelda's counterpart, the almighty Sheik!" Marth said loudly enough that the hall could hear. Laughter could be heard from some tables, immediately understanding Sheik's "I've been left out" feeling.

"Hello again." Roy grinned some more. Katan smiled at Sheik, but this time didn't speak. Luan remained silent through out the entire process.

"Go ahead, sit down and join us! We've got some time before Marth's battle." Peach told the three. They obliged. Soon food had been served to the three, which they wolfed down hungrily to the delight of the cooks, who for today had been Peach and Young Link.

Marth watched with a grin. Finally he stood up. "Well, I'm heading off soon. Katan, would you like me to show you around, or shall we wait until after the battle?"

"Oh, I think it can wait. But then again, you'll be tired, won't you?" she watched Marth with wide eyes.

"Oh, we could wait until tomorrow too. Well, stick with Link, I'm sure he'll take you to the Melee Hall." Marth waved before disappearing through the main doors. Roy made to wave back, but seeing as he wouldn't be seen, he stopped and turned back to his meal.

"So, Roy, Katan, how do you like the Smash Mansion so far?" Sheik asked, scratching his forehead.

"It's a nice place so far, and almost everyone is so friendly!" Katan smiled.

"I agree with Katan." Roy beamed. "And the food is excellent!"

"Young Link and Peach cooked it today." Link told them.

"Ah, thank you! The food is better here than at home, huh Luan?" Katan asked her companion, who nodded in response.

"Should we head up to the Melee Hall yet?" Young Link asked. Link nodded. He was excited about Marth's first match. They stood, grabbing their dishes and putting them in the special dishwasher to be washed, and started for the door. Roy, Katan, and Luan looked at all the technology around them.

"What's that?" Roy would ask.

"That's a clock. It tells us what time it is." Samus explained with ease.

"What is that, Link-sama?" Katan pointed.

"That's a light switch. It turns lights on and off." Link answered.

"What's a light?" Luan asked.

By the time they got to the Melee Hall, the three had asked more questions than Link knew there ever were. The hall was beginning to fill. Link hurried and found them spots nearest to the screen that showed the empty stage. Roy inspected the screen like it was an enemy.

"Wow, that's an interesting window. I didn't see that outside, but it is there…" Roy had obviously forgotten that he hadn't seen anything through the fog earlier.

"That's a Battle Screen. You can watch the battle going on in it." Peach instructed them. Ness approached them.

"Say, shall I use my powers while we have time?" he asked. Katan jumped in shock, and Roy's head swiveled around in confusion.

"Eh, why not." Link shrugged. Katan's eyes grew wide. "Don't worry, it's for your benefit, not to kill you. He's just going to show you how to use advanced technology."

Ness grinned. "He says it's advanced technology, but it's actually the basics. Anyways, I'm Ness. And I'm going to insert into your heads the information needed to survive in this mansion, included and not limited to taking a shower, using a tv, using a computer, turning on a light, etc etc…" Ness went on with his little introduction. "Now, when I'm done, your head will feel funny, but it won't last long." He then reached out and touched their brows, using a finger to touch Luan's too.

A minute or two passed, Roy making funny faces and Katan shutting her eyes calmly. Luan remained impassive, but still taking in all the information.

Finally, Ness was done. "How do you feel?"

"Headache-y." all three said together. Ness was about to continue, when a voice came over the intercom.

"Mario VS Marth!" the voice said. The screen's picture changed to the Fountain of Dreams Arena. Beneath the screen was the damage counters. Marth and Mario appeared on opposite ends of the screen, both with a smirk on their faces.

"Ready…"

Everyone sat straighter to see the screen as best they could.

"Set…"

Marth bent down into his stance.

"MELEE!"

* * *

Oooo! Cliffhanger! Oh no! I'm going to get boarded for this! Not flamed, but smacked over the head with a board. Remember, I am a Pyromaniac, and Flames are my friends! Next chapter will come as soon as possible after I get a few more reviews, maybe at least four more reviews. Reviews, both criticizing and "good job" ones, are great! If you don't like it at all, go ahead and tell me! But don't expect a a response. I might just respond. Those who like it or love it, I'll respond as soon as possible! R&R Peeps! Fanks for Reading, this is the Pyromaniac Aru of Pherae, Signing off! 

Roy: Me too! I have to go on a march to stand up for the Fire!

Marth: What the hell are you talking about, Roy?

Link: Really.

I'm coming too, Roy!

Ardath: Well, I'm not a pyro at all, seeing as I Mastered Ice magic on my journeys. Thank Xela for that. (Ardath is in my original story, not a fanfiction, and the world she lives in has several gods and goddesses, one being the goddess Xela, Goddess of Ice and Water)

Roy: Stupid Xela goddess thingy. Who's your fire god? Or goddess?

The God Shor and his lovely Goddess Wife Luana share Fire. (See the Goddesses's name? Its similar to Luan, the little dragon)

Roy: Awesome. Anyways, we must leave you so we can go march and shout Shor and Luanas' names to the crowd.

All: Bye, and Fanks for reading!


	3. Of Explosions and Milk

Yayness! Chapter 3!

Roy: Great job, Aru!

Ardath: And you worked on your original! Yay, now I get to go and play in the snow! (Ardath's story is **not** a little kiddy story. Its Sci-fi/fantasy, and includes blood, not for the little kiddies. Just letting ya'll know.)

Marth: Hahaha, finally, my battle with Mario. It's one of Aru's better fight scenes, in her mind.

Yes, I hope it is. This chapter is a little shorter, but still, it should hopefully be just as good. Roy, would you please-

Roy: Aru gives Kudos to all her reviewers (three total, oh so great) and greatly appreciates Silver Ferret's review and feels moved by their act of non-laziness(no offense taken, I hope) But thanks to her reviewers!

Thank you, Roy, and my reviewers (Hands out Kudos) Who wants to disclaim?

Ardath: Well, Izu disclaimed last time, and Roy the time before that... So how 'bout Marth?

Marth: Gladly. Aru doesn't own Super Smash Bros Melee, all credit goes to Nintendo. But Nintendo better watch out, for I know that she's planning to take over Nintendo in the future.

Roy: She'll make us her loyal mascots!

Yes. Ardath, would you?

Ardath: Please welcome... the one... the only... CHAPTER THREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Of Explosions and Milk **

"Ready, Set, Melee!"

Marth jumped up to a higher position. He watched as Mario did his taunt at Marth. Marth watched for a moment longer, then fell back to the ground level, and took off running at Mario. Mario easily dodged Marth's sword thrusts, then shot a ball of fire at Marth. Marth evaded the little ball by jumping to the platform above them, then the highest one, where he taunted Mario.

Mario grabbed a flower that had appeared near by. He jumped to the platform Marth was on. Marth charged, his sword raised in a killing strike. But then, Mario activated the little flower. Flames came spewing out at Marth. He couldn't avoid the flames.

Marth was sent up into the air, where he was continuously hammered by the flames before the flower finally gave out. Mario tossed it aside and fell back. Now, he went for a hammer. Marth ran desperately to attack Mario before he got the Hammer. Link had told him stories about those hammers, and how even though you couldn't really feel pain in the Arenas, you could feel the hammer. And it hurt.

Unfortunately, Mario got the hammer. He grabbed it and started for Marth…

When suddenly, the head of the hammer fell off. The audience laughed as Mario swung the harmless stick to and fro, not noticing that it was just that: a harmless stick. Marth jumped to the top platform.

Suddenly, a small ball appeared by Marth's foot. It was half red, half silverish white. He looked at it just as Mario appeared on the platform below him. He threw the ball at Mario. Mario didn't expect this, so he was hit in the face by the Poke' Ball.

Marth watched as a burst of light came from the little ball. As soon as the little light faded, he saw another ball that looked almost the same as the one he had thrown at Mario, only larger. It began to flash. Mario yelped and jumped away from it. The ball started turning black. Marth grabbed it and threw it at Mario again.

The giant ball blew up in Mario's face. He was sent flying into the background, a grin plastered to Marth's face.

"GAME!" the announcer called. Marth was then teleported back to reality. He was immediately attacked by Mario, who was slapping him on the back.

"Great-a job, Marth! You-a did a great-a job for-a your first-a time through!" Mario congratulated him as a crowd suddenly rushed through the door, overwhelming the two tired fighters. That was a side effect of the Arenas: after coming out of an arena, the fighter was usually exhausted, as if they had just run one hundred miles backwards. Marth noticed that of his friends, only Peach and Mario were there. Falcon supported him.

"Your friends are waiting for you in the hall. Its sort of a custom for friends to congratulate the winner last, although almost everyone considers you a friend." Falcon whispered. "Go ahead, they're waiting for you."

Marth made his way to the door, getting so many congratulations he thought his mind was going to explode like the Electrode he threw at Mario. But finally he made it to the door. He went outside and was immediately tackled by Zelda and Young Link.

"Great job Marth-kun!" Katan laughed, trying to help him up. Roy and Link came to his rescue as well while Samus leaned against the wall, laughing. At first, the others didn't notice, but then they turned and looked at her. Roy, Luan, and Katan ignored it as if it were normal, but then again, they didn't know Samus very well yet. But when they saw the others staring at Samus, they became confused.

"Wow Samus, you sure are having a laugh attack." Link pointed out.

Samus straightened herself. "Y-yes, I just couldn't help myself… Heeheehee!" she giggled. This seemed to frighten the other smashers, including the ones coming out of the Arena Transport Room.

Finally, Samus managed to straighten out and helped Marth up. Link let Marth lean against him for support. Roy and Katan watched innocently. They made their way to the elevator. Link went into the elevator, but Roy and Katan stopped. Samus and Zelda stopped behind them. "What's up?"

"Why are we going into a box?" Roy asked.

"It's called an elevator." Samus explained. "It will take you to any level in the house, including the basement. Didn't Ness put that into your head?"

"Not that I know of… But that box that takes you to any level… That's interesting…" Katan gingerly stepped inside. Roy followed less cautiously. Luan floated in, his tiny head dodging to and fro as if he were going to be attacked at any minute. Samus and Zelda followed. The elevator was just big enough for all of them.

They went down a level to the bedroom level. They came out and started towards Marth's room. But instead of going to Marth's room, they went to Katan's room, seeing as it was nearest.

The room was filled with blues, except for several bursts of flame on the wall. The beds were covered with flame designs. Katan and Luan's eyes lit up at the sight of the flames. Along the corners of the room ran gold trim. There was an oak desk in one corner with several quills and pens along with a computer and lots of paper. Between the two beds was a table with several candles lined up waiting to be lit. A box of matches sat near by. Katan's bag sat next to one bed. They had a balcony sitting just outside the sliding glass doors.

Link helped Marth to a bed where he sat down with an exhausted sigh. "Wow, that sure was fun!" Marth grinned. Roy sat down on a chair near the desk, Link on the other bed, Zelda next to him, and Katan and Luan sat on the desk chair. (A/N actually, Luan sat on Katan's shoulder) Samus remained standing, checking out the balcony.

"So, how was your first battle? You did a great job fighting Mario." Zelda asked.

"It was fun." Marth sighed. His strength was returning slowly. "It sure was exciting. When I saw Mario pick up that hammer, I got really excited then, but it was rather funny when the head fell off."

"That was hilarious!" Young Link grinned as he entered the room. No one had seen him disappear, but now he was back with a drink for Marth. The older smashers recognized it as both Links' favorite drink, Lon Lon Milk. It would heal Marth.

"What's that?" Roy asked, pointing to the glass jar.

"It's Lon Lon Milk. Where did you get that?" Link glared at Young Link.

Young Link grinned. "Your room." He handed the milk to Marth, who looked back and forth between the two Links.

"How dare you, you little squirt!" Link made to get up and attack his younger self, but Zelda stopped him. Link let out a whimper as she glared at him.

"Don't you dare, Link." She growled. Young Link stuck his tongue out at his older self. Link gave up and sat back down. There was silence as Young Link gave Marth the energizing milk. Marth looked at it as if it were poison.

"Is this… _Milk?_" he asked, sounding a bit disgusted. Young Link nodded. Suddenly the milk was back in his hands, and Marth was backing away, his eyes wide. "Keep it away! Keep it away!" he squeaked. Everyone else in the room cracked up. Marth looked around wildly.

"What's up with you Marth?" Samus gasped, holding her stomach. "You-you sound like a scaredy cat!"

"I… I just had a bad experience with milk." Marth blushed.

"What, did it moo at you?" Roy asked. He was now on the floor, rolling around laughing.

"No." Marth's face grew solemn. One look, and the room went deathly quiet.

"W-what happened?" Katan asked with a stutter. Luan cocked his little head.

"My… my friend was killed with milk." Marth looked at the flames on the bed. Young Link felt guilty now. "An assassin poisoned the milk. It was meant for me, but my friend… He wanted some milk, so I gave it to him… It's all my fault…" Marth buried his face in his hands.

Silence ensued. Everyone was shocked. Marth had been responsible for the death of-

"Just kidding!" he looked up and grinned. Everyone glared at him, especially Young Link. Marth took the milk from him and drank it quickly. When he was done, he had a nice white mustache. This cheered up the deathly mood. And it stopped Young Link and Link from killing him. (for separate reasons)

Marth jumped up. "Alright! Lady Katan, Sir Luan, allow me to be your tour guide." He opened the door. "Come along, we have all day."

"Actually, you have several hours. Don't forget that dinner is at six-thirty." Zelda called after them. Marth saluted.

"Yes Marm. Anything else before we hit the front lines?" he asked. Zelda shook her head at him.

"Come along, Roy. We might as well start too." Samus called to the red head. He nodded, then disappeared after her, leaving the three hylians alone.

"Anyone up to training?" Young Link asked.

"Sure, lets go." Zelda raced to the door. "Last one there's a rotten deku nut!"

Link watched as his two friends raced down the hallway. Life was good. -Fin-

* * *

Fin.Yes Fin. 

-

-

-

-

Fine! Its not Fin! That would be a weird ending! I wonder what's going to happen next! Dinner, that's what! Dinner cooked over the finest flames in all the land. Any flames will be used to cook dinner, or to keep me company! Oh, and if you didn't get it already, Katan and Luan have a thing for fire too... Does that symbolize what's going to happen? Maybe It has to do with the mysterious past of the dragon kin and girl...? Maybe they're just pyros too... or maybe they just don't like it!

Roy: I want a room like theirs! Only the walls would be covered with flames, and the room would be filled with candles that are constantly burning... Oh that is so not fair.

Marth: Oh shut up Roy. Your Flare Blade is bad enough. Knowing you, you'd burn down the building.

Ardath: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Roy: Hey, the little ice maiden fell asleep. I should melt her little 'ice-ness'. (Prepares Flare Blade)

Link: I'm here! And Roy, you shouldn't do that in such a small space. You might-

Roy: Aaaahhhhhhhh! (releases flare blade)

Aww crap. I promised Nintendo I wouldn't let you guys hurt each other or yourselves, but look now! Well, I need to treat Link's and Marth's third degree burns and Roy's first degree burns. Not like it hurt him or anything... This is Pyromaniac Aru, signing off with a sigh.


	4. Discovery and Death

Yay! Chapter Four!

Ardath: So far, this is the best story you've kept up with.

Roy: So, we're going to throw a little party for you, Aru! With a bonfire and everything

Aww, you shouldn't have

Marth: She's right, we shouldn't have

Link: Hey stop being mean to her.

Marth: Who said I was being mean?

Roy: Hey, we can't give Kudos to anyone, since there hasn't been any reviews!

Hey ya'll, I'm warning you. No reviews No updates. I'm serious too.

Amina: Aru doesn't own nuthing. All credit goes to Nintendo

Roy: Onward to Chapter 4!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Discovery and Death  
** Dinner that night was spectacular. Link's mouth watered as he looked at what was on the table. There were little pies, pastries, fruits, steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, roasted turkey, cold and hot apple cider, this and that, etcetera etcetera… 

"Wow, who made dinner tonight?" Link asked Kirby, who was standing on a chair next to him, admiring the food.

"I heard that Master Hand made it for a celebration, seeing as we now have enough Smashers for the tournament."

"Wow, something smells good!" came Young Link's high pitched voice. He entered the room with his little buddies, the Ice Climbers Nana and Popo, Pichu, and Pikachu. They saw what was on the table, and their mouths dropped at least a foot.

"Wow, that looks delicious!" Pichu squeaked as he saw the fruits and pastries.

"Look, Popo, Hot Cider!" Nana called to her twin.

"Hey now, don't start! Everyone has to be here, you got it?" Peach yelled to the youngest Smashers. They all made a face at her as she turned back to whatever she had been doing.

Of the twenty-seven smashers, two hands, and a little dragon, only several were still out. Those several included Samus, Roy, Marth, Katan, Luan, Master and Crazy Hand, Mewtwo, Captain Falcon, Fox, and Falco. The rest of the smashers sat down and began to wait as patiently as possible. Soon, Fox and Falco appeared in the door way. They made their way to their usual table and sat down to wait. Falcon and Mewtwo followed soon after, though not together. After several more minutes, Samus, Roy, Marth, Luan, and Katan came in and made for Link's table. Now they just had to wait for the Hands.

"So, how was your little tour?" Link asked.

"It was fun! Marth fell down the stairs to the basement so we had to go and rescue him. And Mewtwo threw a book at us when we were being too noisy near the Library." Roy told the group. They laughed at the fun that they had had when suddenly the Hall went quiet. Master Hand and Crazy Hand stood in the doorway. They looked around, Crazy doing his normal twitching. Finally, if pleased, they started up to the front of the room where a specially made table sat, waiting for its occupants to arrive.

Finally, Crazy sat down, but Master Hand remained standing, preparing to give a speech. "Smashers, I would like to congratulate Marth on his first win as a smasher." Cheers went up around the hall. Link slapped Marth on the back, giving him more congratulations. "And I would again like to welcome Roy, Katan, and Luan." More cheers went up. Katan closed her eyes and smiled while Roy waved. Luan fanned his wings.

"And I would like to make an announcement." Master Hand called over the din. Everyone went silent, wondering what he was going to announce. "We are going to have a tournament next Spring."

The hall erupted into cheers of excitement. Even Roy, Katan, and Luan joined in. "Now, eat up!" Master Hand called, and everyone began their meal, laughter and joy going around the hall as they dug in.

"I can't wait! I've been practicing a new move just for this tournament!" Fox told Captain Falcon and Falco, his table buddies.

"So have I! This tournament is going to be one of the greatest!" Captain Falcon replied.

"Hey Jigglypuff, do you want to hang out at my room after dinner?" Kirby asked. Everyone who heard his question listened in.

"Why I'd love to, Kirby!" Jigglypuff answered.

"Well, it seems Kirby finally got the guts to ask Jigglypuff on a date, if not a very exciting one at least." Zelda laughed.

"Hey, you shouldn't make fun of them, Zel." Link told her with a grin. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Yes, your right, dearest." Zelda giggled.

"Hey Katan, you're from the Dread Isles?" Roy asked the girl.

"Yes, I am." Katan answered, chewing on a pastry.

"That's so cool. How is it there? My father went there a long time ago and fought a dragon." Roy told her. Katan's face grew grave as Luan glared at him.

"Did he kill it?" he asked angrily.

"Almost. But my mother sent it back before it would die. Then my uncle followed it. I've never met my uncle." Roy answered.

"Do you mean… your uncle was a dragon?" Katan asked.

"I don't know. I asked my father, but he didn't tell me. He only said 'maybe he was. He sure was a nice kid though.'" Roy tore into a piece of turkey.

Luan and Katan remained silent after that, both brooding their thoughts. Roy turned to Marth. "Hey Marth, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah! What have you been up to since father and I left you all those years ago?" Marth asked.

"Well, Bern has been a pain in the butt. Some of the villagers think that Bern's going to rise up against the rest of Elibe, including Lycia. Lady Lyndis hasn't been heard from for several weeks, so my father and Lord Hector and Lady Florina have gone to find her and her family, besides Sue, who is currently in Ilia or Northern Sacae."

"Do you think maybe Bern attacked her and her tribe?" Marth asked, eyes wide.

"That's possible. Lilina tried to scry them, but she only found Lord Pent and Lady Louise. So who knows."

"Hmm… that's interesting…" Marth thought aloud.

Dinner soon was over, and the smashers all began to disperse to their rooms or the Common Rooms for the party that Captain Falcon was holding. The little group that included Zelda, Link, Marth, Katan, Luan, and Roy headed to Roy's room to check his room out. Peach and Mario soon joined them.

Roy's room was almost like Katan and Luan's room in the way of flames. The wall was covered with flames, and there was a fire place in one corner. The shelves were rose red and bare. The bathroom was deep hues of blue. The desk in another corner of the room was cottonwood with quills and paper scattered on the top. Roy's little bag sat beneath a shelf along with his broad sword. Roy flopped down on his bed, then slid to the ground.

"Wow, look at all the fire…!" Roy gasped in delight. Katan sat down on the other bed.

"Heehee, you must be a pyro, Roy." She giggled.

"Yeah, I am!" Roy rolled around on the orange and red carpet. Link and Zelda laughed while Mario and Peach just smiled and disappeared back into Mario's room. (A/N Don't you get any ideas!) Luan just looked on, still amazed at all the fire in the room.

Finally the rest of the little group settled down. They could hear noises coming from the Ice Climber's room across the way. (A/N I said don't get any ideas!)

"Nana and Popo must be having a sleep over." Link observed from the shouts and laughter coming from the room in several different tones of voices.

"Yeah, they are. Young Link told me they were going to have a sleep over tonight." Link replied.

"So, Roy, Katan, Luan, tell us some more about yourselves." Zelda asked.

Roy started. "I'm the son of a noble, Lord Eliwood of Pherae." Nods came from everyone else. "My mother died when I was seven."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Zelda told Roy. She sat next to him. Link didn't feel jealous. He knew this was Zelda's way of being nice.

"Naw, I'm over it. Anyways, I have a lot of friends back at home. A lot of them 'serve' me in the army, seeing as I'm a general."

"Wow, you're pretty young for being a general." Luan observed.

"That's what everyone says. Except my father, my friends, and the Lord of Lycia, Lord Hector. He's been a good friend with my father since they were born practically, though Lord Hector is older than my father. (A/N I don't know their ages. I'm just guessing. For all I know, they might be the same age.) Recently, they've all left to find another of their friends, Lady Lyndis of ex-Caelin."

"Really?" Link asked.

"Yeah, really. They think she's in Southern Sacae. I think she might have gone to Eturia to speak with the Sages there, or maybe even gone to visit Lord Pent and Lady Louise in the Burning Desert."

"That's interesting." Came Marth's signature response.

"Well… I don't have a very exciting past. I'm sure Katan and Luan do, living on the Dread Isles and all." Roy said. The group turned to the duo to find Luan staring at them, and Katan asleep on Roy's other bed.

"Hey, she fell asleep!" Marth got up to wake her, but Luan shook his head.

"Just leave her be." He told Marth. Marth looked to Roy.

"I'm not going to do anything to her!" he said. He had the wrong idea.

"Now I'm wondering if its safe to leave her here… I was only going to ask if she could stay here until she awakens." Marth gave Roy a dirty look.

"Oh, yeah, she can stay. She seemed pretty tired anyways." Roy replied.

"Yeah, we've had it hard, just journeying here was tough." Luan sighed. "Bandits everywhere. Katan wanted to get rid of them all to protect the townspeople, so she hunted down the bandits along the way. We didn't get much rest."

"All the better to let her sleep. Let's go to another room and let her sleep in peace." Zelda started for the door.

"Why don't we just go to bed? It's been a long day, and that fight earlier is catching up to me." Marth said, stretching then yawning. "Yeah, I'm going to hit the hay. Night everyone. If Katan wakes up, tell her I'll meet her after I wake Linky up."

"Okay, we will." Link called back, wondering if he could somehow make his room sound proof to save him from Marth's waking him up. Marth waved and disappeared through the door.

"You know? I think Marth's right. I'm going to go to bed too." Zelda announced. "You probably should too, boys." She lectured. Link shrugged.

"Yes Ma'am, I'll go to bed." Link stood and saluted before marching to the door. "Night Roy, Night Luan!" he called softly.

"Good night Link!" Roy called back. Luan rose into the air.

"I'll just be going. Take care of Katan." He said before disappearing through the door. Zelda smiled, and turned.

"Now lets make sure Katan stays warm. She needs warmth, not cool air." Zelda said.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked.

"This girl, she has Fire inside. We can't let that fire go out, can we? She'll get sick if it does." Zelda said, gently pulling at the flame colored blankets.

Roy was silent for a moment. "But… how does she have Fire inside her?"

Zelda smiled at him. "You have Fire inside you too. The rest I'll let you figure out." Zelda then headed for the door, leaving the blankets covering only Katan's feet. "Good night! I'll let you finish up." She said, closing the door without another sound.

Roy looked at the girl. She still had her armor on and her boots. His mind froze up. Zelda wanted him to remover her armor? Was she nuts?

Roy approached, not knowing that he was being watched from his little balcony. Sheik and Link were in their black clothes, blending in with the night to observe Roy. Marth stood at the end of his balcony, not trusting himself to try and reach the young Pheraen's balcony.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Ssh!" came Sheik's hiss. Marth made a pouting face before turning back into his room, which was next to Roy's.

Roy unlatched Katan's armor carefully. He wasn't quite sure how he would get the armor she was laying on out, but he managed to slip off her breast plate, revealing a beautiful necklace that had been hidden. Roy almost gasped at its beauty. It looked like a ruby, but the color was swirling inside. He wondered where he had seen one like it before…

Flashback… 

"_Momma! Momma!" Roy called. "Where be you!"_

_There was no answer. Roy looked some more until he saw a bit of clothing sticking out of the pantry. It was his mother's dress. Roy grinned evilly, then snuck up to the pantry. He flung the door open, only for his mother to grab him and tickle him._

"_Aww, you found me." She smiled sweetly at him. Roy smiled at her. Then he saw his mother was wearing a necklace. It was an icy blue, and it seemed to swirl._

"_Wow, momma, you have a pwetty neckwace." Roy said in his little kiddy speech._

"_Yes, it is pretty, isn't it Roy? Your father got it for me in a far away land… He went and got it along with your uncle Nils."_

"_Wen wiwl I get meet Unca Nils?" Roy asked._

_Roy's mother smiled sadly at him. She was about to answer, when his father appeared. _

"_Maybe someday, kid." Eliwood took his son from his wife and flung him in the air. "You remind me of him sometimes, always looking to the bright side."_

"_I can ib you and momma stay wid me forwever, daddy." Little Roy smiled._

"_I only hope so, Son. We all hope so." Eliwood smiled sadly. He knew Ninian wouldn't be able to hold that promise._

End Flashback 

"I wonder… Did my uncle give these necklaces to people? It looks just like Mother's did…" Roy mused to himself. He wondered what had happened to his mother's when she died. It had disappeared soon after her death.

Roy removed the rest of Katan's armor and boots quickly before pulling the blankets over the girl. He then removed his armor and slid into his new bed and drifted off to dreamland.

Link and Sheik quietly jumped the distance from Roy's balcony to Marth's balcony. "So what happened?" Marth asked as Sheik turned back to Zelda.

"Nothing exciting." Link replied. "Well, I'm off to bed." He said, stretching his arms. Zelda bade Marth a good night and the three split ways for the night.

Roy woke to the sound of his door opening. He remained still, fingering a little dagger he kept hidden under his pillow. Soon, out of the corner of his eye, Roy saw the shape of a boy approach Katan's sleeping form. The shape shook the girl.

"Katana… Katana… Wake up, Katana…" the shape called. Roy's eyes widened. The shape's voice was a lot like Luan's voice.

"Hmm?" Katan sat up with a yawn. "What… Where are we, Lu?"

"In Roy's room. Come on, its nice outside right now. Lets go and look at the stars."

Roy then grabbed the lamp and turned it on revealing a boy, about Young Link's age. The two turned and looked at Roy.

"Roy?" Katan looked at him confused.

"Luan? Is that you?" Roy asked the boy.

"Yep. This is my human form." Luan shrugged. Roy looked closely at his azure eyes. They reminded Roy of snake eyes.

"Wow… You look… Different…" Roy said stupidly.

"Well, we're dragons, or in Katan's case, half dragon." Luan said with another shrug.

Roy's eyes flew to Katan, who looked down. "You're half dragon?"

"Yeah. That's why I am sort of pyro-ish." Katan smiled softly. "You know, Roy, I think you are half dragon too."

"What?" Roy looked at both of them stupidly.

"Tell us about your mother. She died for no apparent reason, right?" Luan sat down on Katan's bed.

"Yeah… Father said she was sick and was getting weaker by the day. It's been like that since I was born." Roy thought for a moment.

"And did she have a necklace like this?" Luan reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace similar to the one Katan and his mother had.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Roy replied.

"This, my friend, is a dragon stone. All dragons and half dragons have one. But you have to find yours, if you're a half dragon. Katan found hers at the Dragons Gate." Luan explained. He slipped the precious stone back into his shirt.

"Then… How do you find your dragon stone?" Roy asked. He was beginning to feel more powerful than ever.

"Simple. You feel for it." Katan answered shyly.

Roy remained silent, his mind drifting off to 'feel' for his dragon stone. While he was doing this, the other two disappeared through the door. This was going to be a long night.

Elsewhere… 

"_Sir, I'm ready. Who will be first?" came a voice from the darkness._

"He _will be first. Make it gruesome, awful, bloody, and grand. Do it anyway you want. Just make it seem like one of them did it."_

"_Yes, master…"_

Mr. Game and Watch stood in his room. It was a 2D room, so no one could get in. He liked it that way, except when he wanted a friend to come over. But now, he was wondering if he should go join the party down stairs. Finally, he made up his mind to go to the party. He stepped out into the hallway, and started for the stairs. Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. Mr. Game and Watch looked around. With a shrug, he continued to the stairs, making a note to get the lights fixed. Suddenly, a shadow dropped from the ceiling in front of the 2D figure.

"Hello, Mr. Game and Watch. Do you know what time it is?" the figure asked in a raspy voice.

"T-time? I-I be-be-believe I-it it's t-time f-for m-m-me t-t-o leave!" Mr. Game and Watch ran for his bedroom. But the shadow was behind him too!

"No," the shadow let out a rusty laugh, like rusty nails being pulled from an old board. "It's time for you to die.

The shadow jumped on the 2D figure, knocking him to the ground. Mr. G&W let loose a shrill wail.

"Hey, did you hear that? Let's go see what's going on." Came Peach's voice from Mario's room.

"Yes, let's-a go!" Mario opened the door to a horrific sight. On the ground was a bloody Mr. Game and Watch. His 2D body was covered in scratches and bite marks, his little throat gushing forth blood. It looked as though he had been attacked by an animal.

"Oh dear Mushrooms!" Peach screamed. The scream woke the rest of the mansion. Sleepy figures poked their heads out of the doors. Zelda saw what happened, and immediately rushed off to keep the children in their room. Marth nearly puked at the bloody sight. Mario rushed off to get Master Hand, while Link went to get Dr. Mario. But it was too late. Mr. Game and Watch was dead.

* * *

I'm finally going to start killing off characters! Oh no! I'm going to start a little contest. Reviewers, you can guess who the killer is! The winner gets a big cake, from yours truely! 

Ardath: Here's the hints:

Marth: 1: The "Master" is a smasher. But they don't know it

Link: 2: The Smasher is possessed by the "Master"

Those are the hints I can think up right now. For now, the contest is guessing which is the possessed Smasher. Good luck!

Roy: That is Pyromaniac Aru, signing off!

Everyone: Read and Review, or say good bye to the next chapter! Bye bye now!

PS: I might not get to update until sometime next week. I'm going on a road trip for Christmas!


	5. Fight at the Mall

Roy: How could you.

Marth: I can't believe you.

Ardath: Abandoning us? For a week?

I'm sorry guys, but its Los Angeles! And like Ardath said, its only for a week.

Ardath: hmph.

Roy: Well, I'll forgive you if you give me a Christmas present.

Okay. Here's one. The update is one for everyone. I would say don't read it until Christmas, but that doesn't matter.

Marth: Okay. Last Chapter we started the Guessing Game. The only guess so far is:

Roy: I think the guesser thinks Luan is the Killer

Ardath: and Mewtwo is the Evil Master

Now these aren't the actual ones (Or are they...?) So don't jump to conclusions. Now time for the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Fight at the Mall  
** The entire mansion was unusually quiet that day. Outside, a freezing rain fell, mourning for the loss of the 2D figure. Not even the villains or usually rowdy smashers, who didn't care about Mr. Game and Watch, made any loud sound. 

Katan looked around, her eyes large and looking frightened. Some of the Smashers were staring at her brother, Luan, who sat on her shoulder. Luan was a bit unnerved by the staring, and retreated to the seeming safety of Katan's cape.

Marth sat next to the two, looking for the entire world like their guardian. He stayed with them wherever they went, never letting them split up. Some of the smashers thought that the little dragon, Luan, had done it. They might have wanted to hurt him.

Roy and Samus came in just then, followed by Link, Zelda, and Young Link. Due to the murder, none of the young smashers were aloud to be alone. Each of the young smashers was assigned a "buddy" for the time being. Roy sat down on in a chair, his hair a mess, his eyes looking a bit dull. He made a big yawn. Samus sat down next to Katan to reassure her and Luan that they had friends.

"How many more are missing?" Link asked Marth.

"Only a couple, but they're bound to be late." Marth replied. Master Hand had called for a meeting the most common of the common rooms. This one was used for group events, such as Christmas, group dances, New Years Eve, and other group get-togethers.

Finally, the last straggling smashers came in and sat down. Master Hand looked over the scared group, then started. "Smashers, we gather here today to honor a lost friend. Mr. Game and Watch."

A wail went up from a few smashers, Mr. Game and Watch's friends. Master Hand continued. "We also have to take safety measures. Mr. Game and Watch was murdered in the hallway, found by Peach and Mario. To make sure no one else is attacked, I ask you to sleep in groups of at least three or more people. That way, the murderer won't get anymore ideas."

There was murmuring around the room. "This actually would be fun, if it weren't so we could save ourselves from getting murdered." Young Link told his friends solemnly.

"Mr. Game and Watch's funeral will be held tomorrow. I ask everyone to attend, though you don't have to. Remember to stay in groups for safety." Master Hand then disappeared. The common room remained silent for several seconds before all hell broke loose.

"We're all going to die!" wailed Jigglypuff. The other two little pokemon joined her in her crying.

"Who ever killed Mr. Game and Watch is so going down!" Captain Falcon growled, punching his other hand.

"Oh dear, what are we going to do?" Peach cried, grabbing Mario and squeezing him.

"Poor Mr. Game and Watch…" Young Link bowed his head.

Several arguments broke out among the smashers, and a lot of crying took place. Midst the mayhem, Katan remained silent. She just stared straight at the carpet.

"I bet it was one of the new smashers!" came Falcon's voice. Everyone suddenly went quiet. All eyes turned to Roy, Katan, and Luan. One or two of the other smashers even looked at Marth.

Link stood up. "Hey now, I don't think that they did a thing. They've only been here for barely a day. Why would they want to kill Game?"

"They want to scare us!" came someone's voice.

"They were probably sent here to kill us all for some revengeful freak!" came another.

The three newest additions gathered in a little group for comfort, seeing as they were all in this together. Finally, Zelda stood up.

"Enough!" she screeched. The room went deathly quiet. All of the smashers respected Zelda. "Just because they're new, doesn't mean that they are the only ones on the suspect list. Right now, we all are on the suspect list, including myself and those at Captain Falcon's party last night. Placing the blame on someone is just going to push everyone into panic. We don't need that right now. Right now, we need to stand together. For all we know, the murderer could be someone who isn't a smasher, merely one of the city folk in Smash City."

There were murmurs of agreement and apologies to the three. Everyone began to form little groups in which they would stay each night until the murder was solved. The crowd then dispersed to go due their duties.

"Hey, wanna go to the city?" Link asked Zelda. "We can go get some lunch or something."

"Are you asking me on a date, you big lug?" Zelda punched Link fondly. "I know! Let's take some friends with us, and we can get some pizza!"

"That's a great idea, Zel." Link grinned at his girlfriend. "Who should we take with us?"

"Oh, how about… Peach, Katan, Roy, Marth, Luan, and maybe Samus?" Zelda listed.

"Yeah, Young Link too." Link said. "Let's go ask them."

Of those that were invited, Luan and Peach stayed behind. Peach had some work to do, and Luan was going out for a fly, for the sun had come out finally. Those who accepted met Link and Zelda down in front of the Mansion. They then began their long walk to the city. And for once, Samus wasn't wearing her armor.

"Should we hit the mall?" Zelda asked the two girls in the group.

"The Mall…?" Katan thought for a moment.

"Yeah, the Mall. It's a big collection of all sorts of stores! It's a great place to hang out." Samus told Zelda. "We have to go, so we can show Katan what a great place it can be."

Link and Marth groaned at this while Roy looked back and forth between the two parties. Link and Marth knew that girls and malls were a dangerous thing for men and their money. Young Link was just feeling excited. He loved going to the mall with Zelda. It usually meant that he could get candy.

"And after that, we can go see a movie or something!" Katan exclaimed. The three girls let loose little shrieks of excitement, while the boys inched away from the crazy girls. Young Link joined the older boys.

"It feels like we're on a triple date, huh? Only you and Zelda are the only ones together. And we also have Young Link here." Marth said to Link while Roy was trying to take in all that was said.

"Yeah, although you and Samus would make a nice couple…" Link said evilly to Marth, making sure to keep his voice down so the girls wouldn't hear him.

"Actually, she really does seem to be my type…" Marth grinned. The other two laughed at this. "And Roy, you would be perfect for Katan!" Marth told Roy with an evil grin. "I heard that Zelda made you take her armor off last night.

"Huh?" Roy's face turned almost as red as his hair. Link, Young Link, and Marth burst out laughing. The girls, who were in front of them, looked back in confusion.

"We really don't want to know what you're talking about back their." Zelda said bluntly. Then something popped into her mind. "You know what? I think you guys should lead the way."

"Sure, why not." Link shrugged, taking the lead. The girls allowed them to pass before continuing.

"So Zel, how long have you and Link been together?" Katan asked. She felt very comfortable around the Bounty Hunter and the Hylian Princess.

"Oh, for years. Link's rescued me so many times from Gannondorf and his stronger counterpart, Ganon. Of course, it's an odd predicament with Sheik being my counterpart, but still, its rather nice. Link's such a nice guy." Zelda said with dreamy eyes. She then turned to Samus. "So tell me, do you have something for Marth?"

"Huh?" Samus was caught off guard. "Why do you ask that?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. I've seen you watching him. I'm a pro at this kind of stuff." Zelda smiled evilly.

Samus sighed. "Alright, alright. I guess I kind of have a crush on him…"

"Kind of!" Zelda said a little bit too loudly. The four boys looked back. Zelda waved at them, then returned to their conversation as the boys went back to theirs. "You should talk to him some more, Sammy."

"Yeah, Sam, you should tell him." Katan patted Samus's shoulder.

"I know I should… It's just… I'm not quite sure how to do it… I didn't grow up with humans, I grew up with what you would call aliens. They didn't act like a human would."

"I guess you've got a point there." Zelda said. "How about I teach you how?"

"Really?" Samus looked up at her hopefully.

"Really."

"Thank you, Zel. You're a great friend." Samus smiled one of her rare smiles. Zelda made a note about those smiles.

"How about you, Katan? Do you like someone? I haven't really gotten to observe you very well…" Zelda asked the girl.

"W-who, me?" she stuttered.

"Yeah, you. You're the only Katan I know." Zelda smiled at her.

"Well…" Katan thought for a moment.

"It's okay, we won't tell anyone unless we really need to." Samus told the girl.

"I-I'm not quite sure…" Katan said, her thoughts trailing off. Zelda looked at Samus, who looked at Zelda.

"Well, that's okay. You've only just gotten here." Zelda smiled sweetly at the girl. "But you know, I think you've taken a liking to Roy boy over there…"

"Huh!" Katan looked at Zelda, her eyes wide, her face turning a bit red. Zelda laughed gently.

"Never mind." Zelda laughed some more. Katan looked away, her face still warm and blushing, and Samus smiled kindly at her.

The trip to the mall didn't take too long, though Young Link started complaining that his feet hurt. But as soon as they got to the huge mall, all other thoughts were forgotten as the little group set their eyes on the huge place.

The first thing the group did was went and ordered a pizza. While they waited for their pizza to cook, they sat and chatted as a group, instead of by their genders.

"I wonder who murdered Game…" Link said, messing around with his soft drink, poking at the ice cubes with his straw.

"I bet it was someone evil." Marth pointed out.

Roy snorted at this comment. "One point for Marth the Wise One."

"And you know it." Marth started pretending to meditate. Zelda and Katan giggled.

"But I mean, seriously. Who would want to kill a two dimensional figure who doesn't really have any enemies, at least that I know of?" Link pointed at Marth with his straw, sending a few drops of the soda flying onto the table.

"Maybe the killer isn't fully an enemy of Mr. Game and Watch." Katan spoke up. "Maybe the killer wants to get back at the Smashers for something? Like, revenge?"

"Yeah, that's a good guess. Unfortunately, we can't answer anything as of yet." Samus sucked at her milkshake straw. The little group fell into silence, except for Young Link, who had already finished off his soda and was trying to slurp up what ever was left.

"Number 234, please come and get your pizza." Came a voice over the loudspeaker.

"That's us!" Young Link jumped up with the receipt and rushed to the counter to get the pizza. Only when he came back did everyone realize how hungry they were. No one had really eaten breakfast that morning, not even the two bottomless pits, Kirby and Yoshi.

"Wow, I sure am hungry…" Roy said as he watched Young Link making his way over with the pizza. "And I've never had pizza before."

"Oh, you're going to love it." Link and Marth spoke together. Marth's stomach rumbled loudly.

Finally Young Link put the pizza on the table. Immediately it was torn apart by the ravenous smashers. In seemingly no time at all, the smashers had demolished the pizza and were ready to hit the stores.

"Wow, that was good!" Link grinned.

"I still like Luigi's pizzas better." Zelda said.

"That's because he's Italian, and he's one of the best cooks in the Mansion!" Marth said. Luigi was one of the best out of all the smashers. The only smashers that surpassed his skills in cooking were Kirby, Peach, and much to everyone's surprise, Ganondorf.

"So where should we go to first?" Samus asked. Everyone stopped. They turned to Zelda.

"Um…" Zelda thought for a moment. "How about…"

"That one store with all the weapons!" Link, Young Link, and Marth all yelled rabidly.

"Okay then, we'll go to the weapons store." Zelda led the way. Katan looked around at the numerous stores and all the people in amazement. There was nothing like this back at home! Heck, there wasn't even a market, let alone a village.

The little group entered the weapon store. It smelt of fresh burnt incense. On the walls, there was numerous swords, battle axes, lances, spears, and all sizes of guns. In the middle of the room were cannons, ballistae, and a table with arrows, bows, slings, darts, kunai knives, and so much more. In another corner there was a row of different types of armor in all colors.

"Wow, this is like an armory!" Roy bounced over to the wall to look at a long sword. Marth and Katan joined him, while Samus looked at the guns. Young Link and Link went to the table to look at the bows.

"Hey, Marth, Katan, look at this sword!" Roy called as he gently took a sword down.

"Hey, don't mess with those!" came a grumpy old voice. An old man hobbled around a corner from a back room and swung his cane at Roy. He had silver hair that shined dully in the store's light. He wore some type of old armor covered with dents from a long past war. His cane had a small dragon's head for a handle.

"Ack!" Roy swung around to avoid the swing, only to trip over some stray armor, and fall on Katan, who in turn fell on Marth. The old man, seeing as he tried to use his cane on Roy, fell backwards. Fortunately for him, Samus was standing nearby, and zipped over to catch him before he fell.

"Ah, thank you, lass." The old man thanked Samus. He then hobbled over to the tangle of Roy, Katan, and Marth. "I don't want some crazy teenagers messin' with me swords! Only actual warriors can mess with them."

"But we are warriors!" Katan squeaked from beneath Roy.

"What's that, lassy?" the old man leaned in. "Been goin' a bit deaf in me ol' ears."

"I said we are warriors!" Katan said louder as Roy managed to roll off her finally.

"Ye are?" the old man cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, they are. We all are, even the kid over there." Samus pointed to Young Link.

"Oh, why didn' ye say so, kiddies?" the old man chuckled. "Me name, tis Eula. I've been workin' 'ere since me ol' pappy died thirty years ago. Come, not too many come 'ere, they all be goin' to them hip young places, like those tv stores across the way. Have no thanks for weapons. Come, I like ye kiddies, come have some tea."

"Oh, that's okay, but we-" Samus started to decline when Katan stood up.

"Oh, I love tea!" Katan followed Eula into the backroom.

"Come along, kiddies, got some good fresh chamomile tea." Eula called back.

"Chamomile tea? I love chamomile tea!" Roy bounced into the room. With a shrug, the others followed.

If the outer room seemed like a armory, then the back room was like a weapon warehouse. There were weapons everywhere! Katan was sitting on a box labeled 'sabers' while Roy was climbing onto another box, the label hidden from view. Eula was pulling out a box labeled 'tea cups' from an old dusty cupboard.

"'Aven't used these in a good while. Got them when I was a travelin' merchant, travelin' between worlds. Been to a lot too. So where are ye all from? I can tell that ye are all smashers now, from the Smash Mansion. Why do ye tell me yar names while ye are at it."

"I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule." Zelda started.

"I'm Katan from the Dread Isles off of Elibe."

"I'm Roy, Son of Marquess Eliwood Pherae of Elibe."

"Marth of Altea. Ex-prince."

"Link, Hero of Time and Hyrule. And this is my younger self-"

"Young Link of Hyrule! At your service!" Young Link bowed.

"I'm Samus. I don't really have a home planet." (A/N This probably isn't true, I just don't know)

"Ah, its nice to meet you all." Eula smiled. "And you all have wonderful homelands. Been to all but one of them, and that's the Dread Isles."

"Yeah, no body really goes there." Katan giggled.

Eula pored the tea into the separate cups and handed them to the smashers. "Tis been a long time since I've last seen them places. But I know that they're wonderful places all the same." Eula rambled on. Roy and Katan gratefully accepted the tea. They both began to drink the hot tea immediately, not bothered at all by the heat. When Link went to drink his, he found it to be scalding hot, making him wonder how the two fore mentioned teens were gulping theirs down.

"So Eula, it seems like you don't get a lot of business." Samus started.

"No, sadly enough. Everyone is out doing their shopping, but they don't want weapons, which are pretty critical here on Nintendo. (A/N Nintendo is the name of the planet they're on) Everyone is going for the latest fashion style, not life saving armor.

The smashers were silent. Some of them had taken a liking to the little old man. Katan then spoke up. "Is there anything we can do?" Katan asked.

"Well…" Eula thought for a moment. "I think there is something you can do…"

**An hour later…**

"Come one, come all! See the fight of a life time between three professional sword fighters!" Young Link and Zelda were calling. Samus and Roy were making all sorts of hot drinks for refreshments, and Katan, Marth, and Link were preparing to duel in a three way friendly battle. They were wearing old armor and using dull swords. Katan even put on an old helmet, making her mysterious.

A large crowd gathered in front of the little shop, looking in on the transformed shop. The little group had moved the table, the ballistae, and the rest of the weapons in the center of the shop to the back room, making room for a little arena. Soon Young Link and Zelda helped Samus and Roy pass out hot drinks through out the crowd.

Eula stepped into the middle of the room, still wearing his dented armor. "Hello, Ladys and gents! Welcome to me little show! Before we begin, I would like to thank ye all for coming."

The crowd let out a murmur, some growing impatient. Eula waved the three sword fighters onto the stage. "I would like to welcome me three friends, whose names I shall save for after the little shuffle. Now take your places, me buckos!"

Marth, Link, and Katan spread out on the arena. The boundaries were marked with tape. If one of the three were to step out of the arena, it would be forfeit and they would loose.

"Ready, fight!" Eula waved a little flag.

Katan bounced from foot to foot lightly while Link charged. He went for Marth first. It was pretty even so far, considering none of the fighters had fought each other yet. Link feinted a blow at Marth, who threw his sword up to parry it. Suddenly, like a flash, Link saw a sword slip into the little space between Marth and himself. Katan had made her move. She flung herself back, dancing lightly on her feet.

"I'm going to get you, Kat." Link growled playfully. He dodged a stab by Marth and lunged at Katan. Katan parried his blade and flourished. Marth tried to attack while she flourished, but she parried that too. Link swung his blade at her, which she ducked under, only for the blade to hit Marth's armor. He fell to the ground, 'dead' as Eula had instructed them to do when they got hit. The crowd burst into applause.

Now it was just Link and Katan. Katan was still bouncing from foot to foot, watching Link closely. Link knew that he had a great opponent. He taunted her, but she remained in her current position, bouncing back and forth… Back and Fourth… Back and-

Suddenly, Katan's blade flashed past Link's ear as Katan lunged forward. She started to swing downwards, but Link parried hurriedly. He hadn't seen her move at all!

Katan's foot shot out as she tried to trip Link. But he saw this and jumped, hacking his blade at her. She parried and flourished again. It was like she was _dancing_ with her sword. Everything she did was graceful, like a cat when it was hunting, or a dragon in flight.

Katan lunged back at him, but this time, he was too slow. She poked him in the chest, so he fell to the ground and made his dramatic end. Katan stood over him, adding to the dramatic effect. She lifted her sword, and stabbed it between his arm and side.

The audience went crazy. Even Young Link, Zelda, Samus, Roy, Eula, and Marth joined in on Katan and Link's fantastic battle. Katan leaned down and helped Link up, her face still hidden from the world by the helmet.

"Wow, great job, Katan! You could easily be the best Smasher ever!" Link clapped her on the back. Marth joined them.

"Wow, Katan. That was amazing. Only a true swordswoman can do that." He said as Eula hobbled back up onto the arena in front of the three fighters.

"Okay, now I'll announce me good friends, in order of third, second, then first. In third place, we have Marth!"

Marth waved to the crowd as the applauded. "Thank you, thank you, I'm here till Thursday!"

"In second, our very own, Link!" Link also waved. "And in first, our best fighter, Katan!"

Katan pulled her helmet off, revealing her black hair. The crowed really burst into applause. "Now, if ye would like, ye can come up here and meet them, single file please, and no cutting. And don't forget to get a sword of ye own! Starting the week afore Christmas, we'll be selling hand made replica's of our fighter's own swords, autographed an' everything!" Eula smiled at the crowd. "And we also would like to thank Samus, Roy, Young Link, and Zelda for the won'erful drinks this 'ere evening. Now first up…"

"Wow, today sure was fun!" The group had finally escaped the crowd. Katan had a huge grin on her face. Roy clapped her on the shoulder.

"Great job today Katan. You're a wonderful swordswoman." He grinned some more.

"Thank you, Roy." She returned his grin with a smile. The air had grown rather cold over the evening. It was about seven PM, meaning they might have missed dinner. Not that they cared.

"I sort of feel like I'm forgetting all about Game's death by having fun." Marth said aloud to no one in particular.

"I know what you mean." Samus replied to him. "And for a while today, I did forget. But I'm sure that he wouldn't want us to be sad in the first place."

"Yeah…" Marth looked up at the cloudy sky. It was already rather dark, so he could see the silhouette of the moon behind the clouds.

"It's supposed to snow tonight." Zelda told Link and Young Link. "If it snows enough, we can have another fun day tomorrow!"

"Yeah! I hope it does snow a lot!" Young Link bounced a head. The mansion came into view as the little group passed through the inner gate. They ended up having a race to the Mansion. Marth lost, seeing as he tripped and ended up rolling the rest of the way, while the other six laughed from the stairs. They then went into the house, only to find it was about as warm as a freezer inside.

"Why is it so cold?" Roy asked as he spotted Fox hauling blankets into the Main Common Room. Fox looked at him.

"Bowser broke the heaters. All of them. Don't know how, he just did it." Fox went back to hauling the blankets in. "Oh, and Master Hand says that since we need to be in groups anyways, we can all stay in the main common room tonight to stay warm."

"Okay." The seven replied.

"We should go get our blankets. Samus, Katan, come with me. We'll split it boys and girls. And we don't need one of you strong boys, because we have little Katan here who moves like a shadow." Zelda said as the boys looked at her, their faces all saying "Don't you need protection?"

"I want to find Luan, just to make sure he's okay." Katan said as they split up.

"Okay. We'll stop at your room first and see if he's there, though he shouldn't be-"

"Katan!" Luan flew through the doorway from the Main Common Room. "How was your day?"

"It was good, Lu." Katan smiled. "It was good."

* * *

Whew, this was a good sized chapter, now wasn't it? Aww, I can't update till next week. cries I'll just have to take some paper with me and write the next few chapters, then I'll copy them onto the computer, then walla! 

Roy: a bunch of chapters! yay!

Marth: Aren't you all so excited?

Ardath: I don't think I like that little Eula man. He talks too much.

Roy: Aww, you're so mean.

Geesh, Ardath. What's the matter with you?

Ardath: I'm being controlled! eyes turn demonish RAAAAAaaaaa..aaaa...aaa...aa...r...zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Marth: This tranquilizer comes in handy.

Roy: How could you do such a thing to a beautiful lady! You fiend! (Attacks Marth with his sword)

Okay, well, I'll be working on this while I'm down in Los Angeles. Good bye! I'll miss you all!

Roy: I'll miss you too!

Marth: Pay attention to your enemy, dimwit.

(Watches sword fight scene again)

Ardath: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz... Read...&...Review...zzzzzzzzz...or no...update...zzzzzzzzz


	6. Poisonous Mood

Roy: Happy New Year!

Ardath: Isn't it already six days after New Year?

Well, of course it is. I finished this while I was in California, and was planning on updating, but I wasn't allowed on the internet until I got a new antivirus program.

Marth: But you did sneak on the internet anyways.

Yes, well, I just had to read all the updates that my favorite stories had! (I recommend **Darkling** by Game2002, its really good! And not to mention **Survival!** by Rainstorm Sonata. Four cheers for them!)

And now I'd like to introduce my newest friend to our pre-story talk, the not-so-talkative in Ardath's presence, Semaj!

Semaj: Err... Hi?

Ardath: Semaj! There you are! (hugs Semaj)

Semaj: (chokes)

Roy and Marth: I think you're killing him.

Disclaim already, the audience is restless!

Link: Aru don't own squat. So don't sick the Mafia on her, for that means we'll have to get off our lazy a-

Roy: And she thanks her reviewers! Marth?

Marth: RoyalFanatic, Silver Ferret, and Javier8705!

All(except Semaj, who is currently being rushed to the Hospital Wing of the Mansion): Onward to the chapter and a Happy New Year!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Poisonous Mood  
** "Hey, its snowing again." Luan was starting out the window. He was in his human form, to the other smasher's confusion. Around a table behind him was the usual group, minus Samus and Young Link, the former talking to Fox, Falco, and Falcon (much to Marth's dislike. Three guesses why!) and the latter with the other younger smashers. 

"Really?" It was clear earlier…" Link joined Luan at the window, followed be Sheik, Katan, and Roy. Katan pushed her face against the window, only to pull back with a yelp.

"It's cold!" she squeaked, dropping the navy blue blanket Marth had lent her. She bent to pick it up, but Roy, being the gentleman he was, grabbed it first and gave it to her.

"Heh, well, yeah its going to be cold. Its below twenty eight degrees outside." Sheik pointed out blandly.

"I'm bored." Roy sat back down, complaining. Marth just gave Roy a "you're not making it any better" look.

"What should we do?" Link asked, sitting down. "Besides sleeping."

"Strip poker?" Marth suggested with a perverted grin.

Before someone could protest and call Marth a perverted idiot, Katan asked, "What's strip poker?"

"A card game that you shouldn't play. We could play normal poker… But do we have any cards?" Link asked.

"No." Sheik replied.

"Darn." Marth went silent as the others looked at him.

"Could we duel?" Roy asked.

"No, not unless Master Hand allows us to." Link replied.

Silence.

"Hey, Katan's falling asleep on us again." Roy spoke up.

"Huh?" Katan jerked awake. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Go ahead and go to sleep if you want." Sheik sighed before standing. "At least I don't have to stay here." He then waved to the others before switching to Zelda.

"Welcome back, Zel." Link said glumly.

"Hello. What's happening?" she smiled.

"Absolutely nothing, Zelda." Marth replied with a bored yawn.

Roy remained still, watching everyone exchange greetings with the Princess of Hyrule. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. Katan had fallen asleep and leaned on his shoulder. He hear Luan give out a snort and a small chuckle from his perch by the window.

"I think it's time for Katan's bedtime." Marth laughed as Katan slept on, Roy frozen. "Here, let me help you Roy…"

"Naw, I can do it." Roy murmured. He gently shook Katan, waking her up again. "Hey, sleepyhead Katan, you should go to bed now." He whispered. He stood up as she sat up, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. Roy extended his arm and offered his hand. She stared at it a moment, then took it, pulling her self up.

"Good night everyone." She said with a yawn.

"I'm going to bed too, seeing as there isn't anything to do." Roy spoke up.

"Good idea." Marth stood next to Roy and Katan. "Are you love birds joining us? What about you, Luan?"

"I'm watching the snow." The boy replied, his azure eyes glowing in interest. They seemed to be a shade brighter from the glowing white snow.

"And we'll join you. Master Hand is going to open the arenas tomorrow to begin training. Plus, he's holding Roy and Katan's battles early, for after three weeks, the usual wait time, everyone will be far too busy for Christmas."

"So we're battling tomorrow?" Roy asked, steadying the sleepy Katan.

"Yeah. It will probably be a team battle. You two versus someone and someone else." Link replied with a yawn.

"Oh." Roy said thoughtfully.

"Bed." Katan mumbled.

With that, and a few chuckles, the group went to their beds.

It was about one in the morning. Of all the smashers, there were only three still awake, the others having retired long ago.

"I'll be right back." DK grumbled. "Bathroom."

"You be careful, DK." Luigi told him.

"That killer could be right outside the door for all we know, huh Luigi?" Yoshi told the green plumber, though it was also aimed at the giant gorilla.

"I'm not afraid. Mr. Game and Watch was small and weak. I'm big and stron, not to mention dangerous. And if you are so afraid for me, why not come with?" DK challenged.

The other two froze up. "N-no, w-we t-t-trust y-you, D-DK." Yoshi waved and stuttered. Fear was heavy on his high voice.

DK grinned and started for the bathroom. The hallways were well lit and freezing cold. DK saw the front door had been blown open, snow dancing its cold way into the mansion. He closed it, ignoring the seemingly protesting snowflakes.

"Donkey Kong." Came a raspy voice, strangely familiar…

DK turned and saw a dark shape behind him. In its hand was a knife, covered with dry blood. DK, being an animal with a fairly strong nose, could smell that it was covered with his ex-best friend Mr. Game and Watch's blood.

"Who are you?" DK demanded angrily. He needed to go to the bathroom, and standing in front of him was his friend's killer.

"Me? I'm sure you know who I am." The killer responded, running his gloved hand along his blade. It seemed like it was made from ice.

"No, I don't. I would have hurt you long ago if I did!" DK roared, charging for the figure. The figure sidestepped easily, then flung his arm around, stabbing DK in the shoulder.

"That won't harm me." DK growled. He was about to swing around and smash the shadowed figure, when his body went numb, then limp.

"Hahahaha, the wonders that are caused by one of my friends. Its called poison, you know? I'm quite good with poison. It can't harm me." The voice whispered almost gently in DK's ear.

DK could only panic as his sight began to get fuzzy, then fade to black, as his body screaming in pain as his hear began to slow its steady beating.

The figure shrunk, the robes disappearing. The last thing DK remembered before his seeming end was glowing blue and red eyes, which were fading to blue. Then everything went black.

Roy yawned as he sat up. The sun still hadn't risen yet. He looked and watched as Katan appeared from the door and walk over to the sleeping Luan, who had fallen asleep watching the snow dance in the air.

"Hey let's go play in the snow after breakfast!" came Young Link's voice. Roy saw him attacking Link and Zelda, who were still sleeping. Marth, much to a lot of the smasher's surprise and amusement, was still sleeping.

"He looks so cute when he's sleeping." Katan giggled, sitting down next to Roy. Link and Zelda joined them a moment later, still yawning from Young Link's attacks.

"He really does. Its rare that we get to see him sleeping. Usually, he's already up." Zelda laughed gently.

"And waking me up." Link growled. Zelda, Roy, and Katan laughed at his dislike of being woken up 'early' by the blue swordsman.

"Shall we sit on him and wake him up?" Katan asked. Zelda giggled some more.

"No, lets just wake him up." Samus spoke up from behind them, saving Marth from an attack by his friends. She approached Marth's sleeping form and shook him awake. Marth just moaned and buried his head in the pillow.

"I'm still sleeping." He growled playfully, yet still with a hint of being tired in his voice.

"Too bad. Did you stay up later than when you said you were going to bed?" Samus asked. The other four watched curiously.

"Yes. I couldn't sleep. And I had a weird dream when I did fall asleep. I dreamed about killing DK with some rusty old knife…"

"Where is DK?" Link spoke up, noticing the giant ape was absent. They all looked at Marth suspiciously.

"It was just a dream!" Marth whimpered.

Roy came to Marth's rescue. "He probably already headed to the kitchen. Who's cooking today?"

"I believe its Ganondorf." Katan told him.

"Wow, did you already memorize the schedule?" Link asked the swordswoman.

"No… Something just tells me its Ganondorf." Katan replied innocently.

"Well, you're right." Marth yawned and stretched his arms before standing. "Which means good food, not that Peach's food isn't spectacular as always. Let's get going!"

"I'll join you in a while." Katan stood up. Without another word, she disappeared into the hall. Dr. Mario joined her as she left.

"Is she getting a check up?" Zelda asked, fixing her hair.

"Maybe. She does seem king of pale…" Roy observed.

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Marth spoke up. "Well, lets hit the kitchens." He growled. "I'm still starving!"

Link and company were sitting at their usual table chatting about their next trip to the mall they would take to help out Eula, when an even paler Katan stumbled into the hall through the great oak doors. Marth and Roy were about to hail to her, when she rushed frantically to the Mushroom Kingdom table, where Peach and Mario had been eating lately. She started talking to Bowser, her face stricken. He looked at her gruffly and listened. She was also talking to Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. They all gasped, then followed Katan out of the hall.

"What's going on?" Marth voiced the question that was going through everyone's heads in the hall. It wasn't everyday that someone had an entire table leave the hall at once.

"Maybe there is something wrong with the arenas?" Young Link suggested weakly. A broken arena could take someone's life easily. All it took was a weapon to a vital part of one of the smashers… Young Link slurped his Lon Lon milk. He wouldn't drink any other milk, no matter what.

Suddenly, Master Hand appeared at the front of the room. "Silence!" he bellowed. The hall fell eerily quiet.

"I'm afraid to announce that there has been another attack." He announced with a dejected sigh. Gasps and shouts of anger and fear arose in the hall, but were silenced immediately. "This time the killer used a fast acting poison. But fortunately for us and the victim and unfortunately for the killer, it didn't work right." Now there were sighs of relief, but the angry and frightened feelings still hung in the air. "The victim, DK, is alright, and is now in the hospital wing recovering. Lady Katan and Dr. Mario found him near the entrance. At this time, Dr. Mario is not allowing any visitors." With that, Master Hand disappeared in a puff of smoke. Only moments later, Katan stumbled into the Main Hall.

"Four cheers for Katan!" Marth shouted. The smashers whooped and cheered for the girl, who still looked awfully pale, and now overwhelmed. She silently plodded to the table and sat down while Link informed Marth that it was supposed to be three cheers, and not four, but four worked anyways.

"What's the matter Katana? You're so pale." Roy looked worried.

"It's nothing." She mumbled. Roy looked at Zelda with worry etched across his face. Zelda turned to Katan, who she was sitting next to.

"Katan, if there is something wrong, you can tell us. We wouldn't dare hurt you in any way." Zelda whispered gently.

"I said it was nothing!" Katan suddenly and abruptly snapped. She stood up and hurried back into the hallway, ignoring the good job compliments from the other smashers. Zelda looked a little hurt, but she also looked empathetic for the young teen. Katan still hadn't eaten a thing since the tea the day before.

After breakfast, the company (A/N I'm a bit tired of calling them "the group", so I'm going to change it occasionally) split ways to go to complete various tasks. Most of the smashers headed for the training room. Some went to the arenas to check up on the arenas, to look for any problems. Several headed to their rooms. These included Zelda, Roy, and Samus, as well as a couple other smashers, namely the younger ones and their supervisors.

Roy didn't remain in his room very long, only to put on his blue and gold armor and strap on his Sword of Seals, the Fire Emblem gleaming from the hilt. He then walked to Katan's room, hoping she was in a better mood. He was deathly worried about the girl, and wondered what caused her to snap earlier, and not to mention how she felt, for her face looked paler than a ghost's.

Roy knocked on her door. No answer came. He knocked again. While he waited for an answer, he studied her little name plaque. It said "Katan", and was decorated with intricate dragon designs in different hues of dark blue, white, and black. On the top of the "t" in her name, Katan had put a spark of flame, decorated with golds, reds, oranges, and yellow. Along the edge were little vines with small fragile looking roses. The vines were green and silver, the roses blood red and a light coral pink. Luan had gotten his own room nearby. He had yet to decorate the little plaque.

Finally, the door opened, but only a crack as the twin wells of sapphire looked out at him. Roy looked into the deep sapphire eyes that no longer burned with their usual fire, but looked dull and tired.

"Yes?" Katan mumbled through the door.

"Katan, can I talk to you?" Roy asked. She simply nodded and opened the door fully, revealing that she wasn't wearing her armor, but instead a simple dress robe. "Thank you." He murmured, entering the room.

The shelves were now filled with tomes, most about the magics on Elibe. On the desk, a book was going through a translation. There were several books with a language Roy had never seen, not even in the great libraries in Eutruria or Arcadia (Lord Pent had a bunch of books from the legendary Arcadia. Roy had never actually been there before.)

Also on the desk was a letter in the odd language. Roy wondered about that. On another shelf was Katan's sword in its silvery blue sheath, along with several intricate carvings of dragons from an ore similar to Katan's dragonstone. One of the beds looked a bit thrashed, seeing as its blankets had been torn off for the little sleep out in the common room.

Katan sat down with a weary sigh on the unthrashed bed. Roy sat next to her. "Tell me what's on your mind. I can tell that you're troubled by something. Is it one of the smashers? Or perhaps the Killer…"

Katan was silent for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons of telling Roy. Finally she spoke, "Well… I'm not quite sure…" she went silent a moment longer. "I… I haven't been feeling quite myself since I started falling asleep last night. I think it may have to do with my dragon blood…"

"How so?" Roy asked. She was finally opening up.

"I… I'm not quite sure… Instinct tells me its something…" Katan stopped. "But that's… not all…"

"Oh? What else is there?" Roy asked.

"I… I think I'd rather talk to Zelda or Samus about it… I need to apologize to Zelda… Do you think she'll still be mad at me?" Roy looked into Katan's eyes again, but she looked away, as if embarrassed.

"No, she's not the type to hold a grudge." Roy said, remembering the hurt and confused look on Zelda's face that morning.

Roy was about to ask further into the secret Katan wanted to talk to the girls about, hoping to be able to get her to talk about it, but he then got the feeling he shouldn't delve deeper. "Well, do you want to come to the training area with me?" he asked.

Finally, Katan smiled. "Why thank you, Sir Roy, I would love to come with you. I do feel better now that I've talked to someone about my problems."

"I'm glad I could be of some assistance. Remember, you can always count on your friends for help, always." Roy told her, grinning at her. She simply nodded. "And now that that's over, what are you doing with all these books in different languages?" he pointed to the shelves filled with books.

"Oh, I'm translating them." Katan smiled. She bounced to her desk, pushing the letter aside carelessly and picking up the book in the mysterious language.

"What language is that in?" Roy asked. Up close, the words seemed to make sense to him some how…

"Its dragonese." Katan's eyes brightened up even further, though her face remained pale. "It's my parents' native language. Luan and I learned Nintendian while we were in the Dread Isles."

"So were you born on the other side of the Dragon's Gate, or was it this side of the Gate?" Roy asked, his curiosity taking over.

"The otherside." Katan replied indifferently. "The Gate had actually been closed and in lockdown since Lord Nils's sister didn't return with him since their disappearance through the Forbidden Gate, as the dragons call it. But you see, Luan and I, me being only able to take human form and my brother only his dragon form, were apprentice Gatekeepers under Lord Nils and Lady Hazel, another half dragon. While we were cleaning the Gate grounds, the gate suddenly opened. And the thing is, it wouldn't close, no matter what Lord Nils or Lady Hazel did to try and close it."

Roy had a thoughtful face on. This lord Nils sounded awfully familiar… "So did your brother and you pass through the gate?"

"Yes, but unlike what Lord Nils and his lost sister did, we were sent by King Jet, the Lord of all Dragons. He's a pure black dragon, and very graceful on the ground and in the air. Anyways, we were sent to live there, to study the conditions of Elibe, which all the dragons dearly miss with all their hearts, even Marble, one of the three dragons to follow Lord Nils and his sister. When he returned, he was gravely injured. Eventually, we made the decision to remain there. Luan was to leave after twenty years, for on Elibe, the dragons age faster. He only has about three years left before he must return."

"What about you?" Roy asked, worried. Would Katan have to leave them all soon?

"Oh, half dragons already have the lifespan of a human, if not a bit longer, but only by a year or two. So while he went back to our home world, I would remain. Only then I was planning to broaden my horizons and travel to Lycia, Sacae, Bern, and Ilia, and not to forget to visit Arcadia, where there are dragon kin. After that, I was going to travel to Altea, West of Elibe, and Magvel to the East. I heard there were Mamkute (some type of dragon, I think. They take the form of a human and use a dragonstone to attack, and have wings) in Magvel."

Roy was about to question further when a knock was heard at the door. Katan jumped to the door, her hands wrapping themselves around a dagger that hung from a peg on the back of the door. She then opened the door as Roy silently drew his dagger from his boot.

"Oh! Link, Marth, Zelda, welcome." Katan seemed to gasp. Roy peaked around at his other friends. Link and Marth looked the same as ever, but Zelda's face was blank.

"Hello, Katan, have you seen Roy?" Marth replied first.

"Oh, he's right there." Katan pointed to Roy, opening the door with her usual Katan-ish look on her face to reveal her room and the swordsman, sheathing his sword.

"Oh, hello Roy. Are you two going to come to the arenas soon? You've both got a battle in about half an hour." Link told them while Zelda played with the hem on her dress nervously.

"Yes, we are." Roy said. He stood next to Katan.

"Oh, well then, I need to get dressed for the fight. And… can I talk to you Zelda?" Katan looked at her friend, who started at the sound of her name.

"Oh! Of course you can, sweetheart." Zelda stepped into the room and shoved Roy out. "Shoo, boys, shoo." Zelda pushed Roy into Link and Marth, causing them to fall into a pile on the floor. As the Princess slammed the door shut, they looked to one another, shrugged, and dusted themselves off, then left for the stadium. Link and Marth took turns telling Roy about their training, then started asking Roy while he was in a room with a misdressed girl alone…

Zelda watched Katan, who had shut the door. She slipped the dagger back onto the peg, then turned to Zelda. "I would like to apologize for yelling at you earlier. I hope I didn't worry you."

"Oh, of course not. We're friends after all. So, what's on your mind, Kat?" Zelda asked as Katan pulled her armor out of the closet.

Katan hesitated, pausing in her chore of pulling at the stuck armor. "Well… It's Roy…" she paused again. "I… I think…"

"You think you love him, right?" Zelda grinned slyly.

"Well… Yes. I do." Katan blushed, color finally returning to her pale features.

"Well, I have an invitation for you. Why don't you join the rest of us girls after the fight? We're going out for a Girls' Night, with the addition of Pichu, who swore he wouldn't tell the boys a thing. Don't worry, we've taken him on a lot of girls night only trips. He's very trustworthy. Who knows, he might take a liking to you. And all the girls are going so far, besides you."

"Okay! Thank you!" Katan smiled. Zelda could tell that Roy cheered her up somehow. She wish she knew how he did it… Then she remembered Katan's feelings towards him, and mentally slapped herself. How could she forget already?

Katan had finally managed to get her armor out of its place. She set it on the table with loving care, and then pulled of her dress robe. She was very slim, almost lanky. There was probably not an ounce of fat on her body. It was all lean hard muscle. But she still looked very much like a teen. She seemed to be going through the adolescence stage of life, with well-rounded breasts hidden beneath a tube like bra.

"Wow, Katan, do you work out?" Zelda exclaimed.

"Not really…" Katan said as she pulled on her beige shirt, then white cloth pants. She snapped together the breastplate and the larger back plate neatly. She then buckled on a skirt like armor around her waist, and a plain leather belt. There were several loops hanging from the belt. She then pulled on her black boots and some rough gloves. If she had looked more masculine, she could have past as a boy.

Next came her weapons. Katan approached her the shelf where her sword lay, waiting for its next battle. She slipped the sheathe into one of the loops. She then hung several daggers from the rest of the loops, and two daggers went into her boots. Lastly, she pulled her hair back into a tail. It hung from her head about a foot and a half before it was tied. After that, it flowed down her back another foot or two. She looked like the warrior she was.

"How do I look?" Katan asked Zelda as she freed her bangs from beneath the tied back strands of hair so they hung like little vines down her face.

"You look like you could beat the crap out of Master Hand and Crazy Hand at once." Zelda gawped, still amazed at the girls appearance. She could be any warrior's dream come true. Roy would have to like her, especially like this.

Finally, Katan strapped on her Silver and Navy blue cape. "Heh, I feel like I could take on anyone." Katan giggled.

"Well, lets see who is going to get them selves beaten up." Zelda grinned evilly. "I know I feel sorry for them."

With that, the girls headed down the hall, getting stares from any other smasher still in the hall.

"Mario and Bowser." Ness grinned to the three boys. Roy nodded, then looked to where Bowser and Mario, ex-arch rivals, were whispering some sort of plan to one another. Mario was currently shaking his head.

"Mario will be easy, if you're any better than me." Marth told the flame headed boy.

"I'm not quite sure. Your battle was great." Roy told Marth.

"I so bet that Katan and Roy will win. With the way Katan beat me and Marth at the mall yesterday, I'm sure that Katan could win this by herself. Let her go for Bowser, alright, Roy?" Link thought up a little plan for their friends.

Just then, there were gasps coming from the crowd that was beginning to form. Katan and Zelda stood in the doorway. Katan looked like she was armed to the teeth. She had at least three daggers around her waste, and a sword the boys hadn't seen. It was massive, with a hilt looking like it was made from obsidian. The pommel stone was like the dragonstone and the little carvings in Katan's room. This one was fiery red, and looked like there were flames hidden with in it.

Finally, Katan and Zelda spotted the amazed boys. They trotted over and joined the still gaping boys.

"What are you guys doing?" Katan asked.

"Y-you…" Link tried to say something to no avail.

"You look like you're ready for a war." Marth finally managed to say. Roy was still speechless.

"I feel that there is more than just-" Zelda began, a playful smirk on her face, when Roy regained his tongue.

"You look beautiful…" he said. "Absolutely wonderful!"

Link coughed and pushed Roy off the stands as Marth, Zelda, Ness, and several other smashers laughed. Katan just turned a deep crimson. Zelda winked at Katan after she managed to bring herself under control.

"Well, you're battle will start soon. So, I wish you both great luck, and may the Goddesses light your path.

"Good luck!" Marth and Link chimed.

"I have a feeling that you won't need any more good luck." Ness grinned.

"WILL THE FIGHTERS PLEASE ENTER THE CONTROL ROOM." A voice boomed over the loud speaker. Mario and Bowser disappeared into a side door. Katan grabbed Roy's arm and dragged him excitedly into the room after them. Mewtwo and Peach helped Katan and Roy into the transporters. With a smile, the four smashers disappeared.

When Roy and Katan opened their eyes, they were on the largest non-moving arena. The Hyrule Temple. The current music playing in the background was the Fire Emblem theme, which Katan began humming to while she inspected the arena. Katan was on the ground while Roy was two platforms above her. Roy could clearly see Mario on a larger platform, though it was lower. Below him and nearer was Bowser, who waved mockingly. Katan could only see Mario's hat, and nothing of Bowser.

The announcer finally started. "Red team, Mario and Bowser of the Mushroom Kingdom! Blue team, Roy and Katan of Elibe!" the audience cheered, especially their friends. "Ready…"

"Oh boy… Oh boy… Oh boy…" Roy was muttering, excited and nervous at once.

"Set…"

"Oh my, I need to polish my sword after this… Oh wait… I was-" Katan was looking at her sword that she had drawn without a sound.

"MELEE!"

The battle was on.

* * *

What was Katan going to do when she was cut off by the "MELEE" of the announcer? I am going to start a new contest, though you can still insert your thoughts on the killer. The new contest, which is a lot easier, is to guess of what Katan was about to say! If you need a hint, read the chapter again, starting around the time Roy, Link, and Marth leave Zelda and Katan for Katan to get dressed for her match. That will really narrow it down. 

Roy: She loves me? Why do authors love to torture us by pairing us up with random people? Though some scenes aren't so bad...

Marth: Roy! What a dirty mind you have!

Link: Scary... Note to self. Stay away from Roy.

Ardath: You'd better stay away, Roy boy, cause Semaj here will beat you up if you try anything!

Semaj: (nods)

Roy: (Cries) That's not what I meant...

Aww, I still think you're a Uber kawaii chibi pyro, Roy!

Roy: Yay! I'm loved! R&R, people, and tell me you love me too! Please?


	7. Girls' Night Out

Well, This was fairly fun to write.

Roy: I don't think I like the idea you put into this chapter. Or the next few, if the idea lasts that long.

Marth: I do. (evil laugh)

Link: I know Zelda and I do. So you're out numbered, unless Ardath and Semaj come to your rescue.

Roy: Semaj left, remember? He just got to be a special guest. Who is our special guest today? Drumroll please. (drumroll) Our special guest is... My father!

Eliwood: Well Met.

Ardath: Well met, milord! You know, your son can be an idiot sometimes? I mean, seriously. I think I'll tell you about the time he-

Lord Eliwood, would you like to disclaim?

Eliwood: How do you do that?

Marth: By saying that Pryomaniac Aru of Pherae

Link: Doesn't own anything worth suing her for.

You guys just disclaimed. Maybe next time you're a special guest.

Eliwood: Onward to chapter... Um... What Chapter?

Roy: Onward to chapter 7!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Girls Night Out**

"MELEE!"

Roy jumped off the platform and landed near Katan, who had just finished inspecting her blade. He cloud see a fire burning in her eyes, making it seem like the sour mood she possessed earlier was only a bitter dream. Bowser appeared on another platform, the one in the middle of the stage. It was only just big enough for him to stand on. Mario waited behind him on the other platform where he had started.

"Heh heh heh, are you kiddies ready?" Bowser taunted. Unlike the other smashers, who usually ignored the taunts (Unless you were a girl and Link had just taunted you, pushing his golden hair out of his face with a smile, cough, smirk) Katan replied.

"I was born ready!" Katan paused and taunted Bowser back. Her taunt was made up of swinging her blade like the blades of a helicopter, first on her left, then her right, then in front of her, dropping the blade so it landed between the cracks in the stones, giving Bowser a cocky smirk. What made it more interesting was when she swung the blade around, it made a mirror like image, or a picture. Each time it was different, but most of the time it was the flicker of a flame.

Bowser charged as she drew her sword from the stones, and gave it a little swing. Roy watched Bowser and Katan as they met in battle with a clang of sword on claws. Mario scrambled around a platform to the blue team's right. It was supposed to be a trap, Bowser being the distraction. They didn't underestimate the two swordmasters in this fight.

Katan flung herself at Bowser while Roy charged at Mario, drawing his Sword of Seals. As he neared Mario, his charge was cut short as Mario flung a ball of bright red flame at the boy. His damage counter barely rose as he fell to the ground with an "Umph!"

Katan was also surprised as Bowser breathed Koopa Fire at her. Neatly, she spun to her right and hid behind a fallen platform to avoid the damaging fire. The giant Koopa approached the platform and barreled it over. Just as he thought he heard Katan get squashed, he was slashed from above. Katan had climbed a top the fallen platform and jumped as Bowser pushed it over, not even noticing her. Bowser's damage counter rose.

Roy was beginning to overpower the red plumber. He slashed with his sword and fell back. Mario's fire flower on his glove had been slashed, disabling his fireball attack. Roy held his blade behind him. He could feel it powering up. The audience saw the power as the sword turned to a nearly blinding light. Mario was about to punch him when he swung the blade over his head, shouting "FLARE BLADE!" at the top of his lungs. The sword made contact with both Mario and the ground. As it touched Mario and the ground, it erupted with an explosion. Mario got an immediate KO, although his damage counter only counted 38. With a triumphant grin, he looked to Katan and Bowser's little battle. His Sword of Seals remained on fire for a moment longer, then faded away to nothing.

Katan's blade was also on fire, but it didn't stop its delightful dancing burning, and the flamers silver and blue; Katan's colors. She was much stronger than the Koopa King. She imagined to herself that his claws were the swords of many enemies, so she would use her sword skills to get around the dagger like claws. She had discovered that the Koopa Fire barely hurt her (to the jealousy of most of the other smashers) at all, so she wouldn't pay it any heed unless her counter began to grow. For the battle, she didn't need to worry about it.

Roy say and watched her as she taunted Bowser for the thousandth time. Bowser growled and charge at her. It was a fatal mistake. Like a snake, Katan struck at Bowser, the smashed him out of the arena with a display of fireworks.

"Game Set!" the announcer yelled. "Blue Team Wins!"

"Hurray!" Katan cheered. She did a little victory dance as they were picked up by the teleporter. As the reappeared in the control room, the audience let out another cheer.

"Great-a job, Katan, Roy." Luigi cried out as he helped his brother stand upright.

"Great-a job, Roy, you-a really knocked me-a out!" Mario called to the red head as he stumbled out into the crowd, obviously surprised by the side effect of the Melee arenas.

Katan waved weakly at the crowd as Samus and Marth came forward to help the two outside where the rest of their friends waited. The crowd continued to cheer as the created a path to the door. One of the smashers opened the door for them, and they stumbled out.

The instant they came out, Young Link bowled them over, with a huge grin on his childish face. "Wow, you two sure are a team!" Young Link told them. "You could probably beat all the smasher in the tournament, even Ganondorf!"

"Naw." Roy and Katan chimed. Katan blushed.

"Say, where is Luan?" Katan looked around for the missing dragon.

"He said he needed to go to some Gate and would be back in a week or two." Link replied, pulling Young Link off of Roy.

"Oh…" Katan went silent.

"Hey, do you want some Lon Lon Milk?" Zelda asked.

"You mean that milk that gave Marth his strength back?" Roy asked. He was still on the ground, too weak to stand back up.

"Yes. Katan, you'll need some if you want to come with us." Samus helped Roy up while Marth gave Katan his hand.

"Where are you going?" Link asked. "What are you three planning?" Marth elbowed him in the ribs.

"Link, never ever ask a woman about what she talks about to other women and or girls." Marth advised. The girls, Roy, and Young Link laughed. With that, they started for Zelda's room.

Zelda's room was nothing like Peach's room. Because of Sheik, the room had to fit both a boy and girl's thoughts. Fortunately, the two agreed on most things. The walls were a soft forest green, the shelves and desk made from the wood of a tree that had fallen on its own accord; an ash tree. Some of the shelves held Sheik's ninja materials, while others held Zelda's books. Zelda loved books. (No surprise. She's got the triforce of Wisdom, remember?)

One of the beds was a deep blue that matched Sheik's fighting outfit. The other was a deep emerald green. The bathroom was a light gray with dark gray lines to make it look like the stonewalls back in Hyrule Castle.

Zelda had put a little refrigerator in the room, and it had nothing but Lon Lon milk in it. Link and Young Link's eyes brightened up, but Zelda hissed at them. "Don't you dare, these are only for strengthening up after a battle. Malon sends me these herself."

She grabbed two of the bottles and gave one to Roy and Katan. They took them gratefully and gulped them down.

"Wow, I don't feel so tired anymore!" Roy jumped up and down to prove himself. He grinned.

"Thank you, Zelda." Katan smiled.

"No problem." Zelda smiled back.

"Okay, we should-" Samus started to say when a announcement was heard. The company stuck their heads out the door so they could listen.

"Attention all smashers!" came Crazy Hand's voice. "Master Hand and I have been thinking, and we have decided to announce that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we will be holding a big dance! We would also like to announce that two weeks after Christmas, we will be holding a big get together. Everyone is allowed to invite two people from their homelands! We need to get some life back into this place. Also, starting one week and a half before Christmas, Mewtwo, Ness, Master Hand, and yours truly will be hanging up special mistletoe. Also known as the Cursed Mistletoe, you will be forced to kiss whoever is unlucky enough to be standing under it with you. If you don't, well, you don't want to know what happens. It's an awful consequence." With that, the announcement was over.

"Cursed Mistletoe?" Zelda blinked. "Forced to kiss? What if-"

"Oh, and I forgot to mention," Crazy Hand's voice came over the intercom again. "The curse doesn't apply to couples if they are the same sex. ONLY BOY AND GIRL COUPLES ARE AFFECTED. Thank you, and have a HAHAHAHAHA day."

"Whew, I thought I would end up having to kiss another girl." Samus let out a sigh of relief.

"Wow, I can't wait!" Zelda let out a little squeak. "And Christmas is only in two and a half weeks!

They were about to go into the room again when Fox and Falco appeared. "Hey, you guys." Fox called.

"Exactly a week from now, there is going to be a breakfast meeting for Master Hand to better explain the announcement. So don't be late." Falco told them.

"Pass the word around, okay?" Fox asked.

"Sure thing." Marth nodded. Peach Bumped into Fox and Falco.

"Oh, hello. Passing the word around?" she asked.

"Yes." Falco replied.

"Good job." She waved to them as they turned and headed down the stairs. She then approached the group. "Are you almost ready?" she asked the girls.

"No." Katan replied. She headed down the hallway a ways then disappeared into her room with a wave. "I'll be there in a moment!" she called.

"Oh, take your time! We are just having a small problem, so we'll be leaving in half an hour." Peach called back.

"Okay!" Katan had poked her head back out, so she disappeared into the room again, closing the door and locking it.

"Well, I'm going to go take my armor off and shower." Samus waved to the little group too. "I'll come back to your room, Zelly."

"Okay, I'll be waiting!" Zelda called.

"So where are you going?" Link asked. Roy, Young Link, and Zelda laughed when Marth smacked him with a sigh. He then dragged Link off, leaving Roy with Zelda.

"Oh, shoot." Roy jumped.

"What is it?" Zelda asked as Roy fiddled with his armor.

"Well… I want to invite everyone to my room tonight for a sleep over, seeing as it should make it safer." Roy smacked his head.

"I can tell the girls, don't worry. Who should I tell?"

"Katan and Samus, and you too." Roy told her.

"Okay, I'll tell them. See you later!" she closed her door while Roy hurried to catch up to the other two to tell them.

* * *

The girls all met down in the garage. Unlike when they had gone the day before, they were going to another mall, further away, so they were going to take a car. In the group, there was Peach, Zelda, Katan, Samus, Jigglypuff, and Nana, with the addition of Pichu. Peach jumped into one of Captain Falcon's racers.

"Climb in everyone!" she called. The racer was one of Captain Falcon's least used cars, because a) it was pink, b) he had his Blue Falcon (Is that what its called?) and c) it was large.

Samus sat in the passenger seat beside Peach. The others sat in the back, hoping none of the others were carsick. Pichu sat on Katan's lap and looked at her with his little beady eyes.

"Hi, I'm Pichu." Pichu squeaked. Katan smiled and ruffled his fur.

"Hi, Pichu, I'm Katan." She said gently. Pichu grinned, showing his little baby teeth. Katan couldn't help herself. She hugged the little pokemon. Pichu squeaked and hugged her back.

"Your so cute!" Katan exclaimed. Pichu just grinned some more. It was the beginning of a new friendship.

The drive was rather noisy, with the girls all-talking about the dance coming up. Nana, who was sitting next to Katan, was talking about maybe asking Young Link to the dance.

"Why, that would be a great idea! You know, I think he has a crush on you, Nana." Zelda told the pink Ice Climber.

"Really?" Nana's eyes sparkled.

"Really." Katan confirmed. She had overheard Zelda and Link talking about it, and had joined in herself.

The mall wasn't as big as the one they had gone to the day before, but it was a girls mall. The only boys there were the smart early bird boyfriends, sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands searching for something for their girls.

Pichu sat on Katan's lap when they entered. They were met with bursts of pinks and purples, with soft baby blues and romantic reds. It was a clothes store battle, with sales everywhere, Christmas present wrappers being paid to wrap presents. There was a fountain in the middle of the long walkway, with a couple of swans rising up to fly into the sky with each other. The fountain was filled with pennies and nickels. Pichu wanted to throw some in, seeing as all the money in the fountain went to some homeless children's fund, but he didn't have any pennies. Katan handed him one, and they both threw their pennies in, closing their eyes to make a wish.

"You know, a lot of wishes made in this fountain come true." Came a voice behind Katan. She turned around and came face to face with a blue fox.

"Krystal! How are you?" Zelda and Peach called together.

"I'm great. How's Fox?" she asked. "And yourselves?"

"Fox is great, and so are we. Are you staying in town?" Peach asked. Samus turned from looking at the mall directory with Jigglypuff and Nana.

"Yes, I am. I've been looking for a present for Fox and Falco. Katt is also in town. We're staying at a hotel." Krystal smiled. "So, is this one of the new smashers?" she pointed to Katan.

"Yes, and she's already one of the best." Zelda smiled. "She beat Bowser today in a team match with another one of the new smashers. His name's Roy. He took out Mario."

"Mario and Bowser? On a team? That's amazing." Krystal laughed.

"Yes, but they've put their differences aside since the end of the first tournament." Peach grinned. "I'm rather proud of them. They've actually become some what like distant friends."

Krystal chuckled. "So, what are you all doing here?" she asked, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, scribbling on it before giving it to Peach. "Here's my number."

"Thanks. We've just come for a Girls only night, with the addition of Pichu. Plus, there is going to be a dance, so we'd might as well get some dresses." Zelda explained.

"A dance?" Krystal's eyes widened.

"Yeah, a dance." Nana joined them. "Maybe you three can come, since you have boyfriends at the mansion. But we'll have to warn you about the Cursed Mistletoe."

Krystal chuckled some more. "Okay, ask Master for me, would you? Call me with the answer, but I have to go." Krystal waved. She then remembered something. "By the way." She turned to Katan. "I'm Krystal. Fox's girlfriend."

"I'm Katan. And I don't really have a boyfriend." Katan curtsied.

"But she's after Roy." Zelda laughed. Katan blushed and nodded, nearly making Pichu fall off her shoulder.

"Well, good luck, Katan." Krystal waved to the others. "Good bye, hope to see you soon!" Krystal called.

"Bye Krystal! I'll be calling you!" Peach called. The other girls called their farewells and the shopping commenced.

* * *

The girls went to a dress store first. Even Samus didn't mind. She bought a dress, hoping to attract Marth's attention with it. (its not revealing.) Katan couldn't make up her mind between a couple dresses, and Peach ended up buying at least seven.

Next, they went and got some ice cream (what's a trip to the mall without getting ice cream?) and chatted about crushes and boyfriends. Peach told the girls why she had chosen to come to this mall, and not the nearer ones too.

"The boys are also having a night out. At least the ones that really care." Peach announced. "Mario told me."

"Good thing we chose to come here then." Zelda commented. She didn't want Link to see her new dress. "So who went with him?"

"The group I heard was Mario, Link, Marth, Fox, Roy, Falco, Young Link, Kirby, Yoshi, Luigi, Popo, and Ness." Peach replied.

"Wow, quite a large group, huh?" Samus licked at her ice cream.

"I wonder why they went…" Katan thought out loud.

"Probably for boy's things." The girls laughed. After they finished their ice cream, they moved on to set up an appointment for a pedicure and manicure before the dance on Christmas Eve.

Later that night, after they had finished their dinner (They had eaten out), the girls finally started home. Samus drove this time, while Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Nana fell asleep. Katan stroked Pichu's soft fur, and she began to fear for the little mouse. What if the killer attacked him? She decided to take him to her room to sleep. She felt very connected to the little mouse.

"He's nice isn't he?" Zelda whispered. She turned and looked at the window, where the wipers were busy wiping away the new falling snow.

"Yes. I think I'm going to take him to bed with me. I'm afraid… Afraid the killer will come for him." Katan's voice sounded heavy with fear, but not for herself.

"Well…" Zelda trailed off. She thought about bed. Then she remembered something.

"Oh, Roy invited you to a sleep over tonight, along with Samus." Zelda whispered.

"Tonight? Okay, that sounds like fun." Samus said from the front. "What about Peach?"

"Oh, Mario invited me to his room tonight." Peach yawned. "We're helping with the Christmas stuff, so we need to talk it over."

"Oh, good." Zelda sighed with relief. They pulled in through the last gate, then parked in the garage. They silently smuggled their shopping goods to their rooms and prepared for Roy's sleepover. Katan and Samus met Zelda in her room to wait for the boys to get home. There was a party going on down stairs. Captain Falcon would hold a party, no matter how many could come. Pichu slept on Katan's lap still, snuggled up in one of Katan's blankets.

The boys got home about an hour later. Roy rushed to his room to get it ready, while the rest took their time.

"Fox! Falco!" Peach called.

"What?" they called back.

"Krystal and Katt are in town." Peach smiled as the two grinned at each other. "I have Krystal's number, and you could probably ask her for Katt's number."

The two took her number, Fox telling them he was going to call as soon as he got to his room. Peach smiled, pocketing her phone book. She had written the number in it so she could also call Krystal anytime.

Katan, Zelda, and Samus trudged to Roy's room, Katan still holding Pichu protectively. They knocked. The door opened a moment later to reveal that the three boys were already there.

"Hey, so you came!" Link grinned at the girls. "And you brought an extra."

"An extra?" Marth and Roy looked and saw Katan holding Pichu.

"He can come, can't he?" Katan asked.

"Of course, he's already asleep." Roy smiled at her. Katan blushed, but no one noticed as the three girls entered.

The room was still the same, except that the beds had been pushed away and stripped so that they could all sleep on the ground.

After the girls had gotten situated, they all sat down on the bed of blankets Roy and Marth had made.

"So what first?" Link asked.

"Truth or Dare!" Zelda squealed.

"Yes, I agree…" Marth got a shifty eyed look.

"Just no kissing." Roy pleaded. Marth sighed.

"Fine, no kissing." Marth pulled a pen out of his bag. "Here, instead of choosing someone, we'll play by chance."

Clearing a place for the pen, Roy got a board from somewhere and set it down so the pen could spin. "Zelda goes first, since it was her idea."

Zelda smiled and spun the pen around. It landed on Marth.

"Marth, truth or dare?" Zelda asked.

"Um… I think… I shall pick… Truth." Marth smiled.

"Okay." Zelda thought for a moment. She looked at Samus, who was watching her.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Zelda asked.

"In which way?" Marth asked back.

"Love."

"No." Marth concluded. Samus wanted to shout in joy.

Marth spun the pen. It landed on Link.

"Truth or-" Marth started.

"Dare." Link grinned.

Marth grinned more evilly. "I dare you to sing the Barney song. In the hallway at the top of your lungs."

Link's eyes widened in fear. "Oh goddesses, what have I gotten myself into." Link stood up and went to the door. Roy grinned. He had gotten a video camera just for these kind of things. Grabbing it, he pushed past Link and kneeled, turning on the camera.

"Link, about to sing the Barney Song. A dare by Marth." He told the camera.

Link sighed, then took a deep breath. The sooner he got this over with the better.

"I Love you!" he began. "You Love me!" Heads popped out of their rooms. "We're a happy family!" more cameras. "With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you!" laughter. "Won't you say you love, me, too!" he darted back into the room where everyone was dying with laughter. Roy entered, closing the door, laughing his head off.

Link spun the arrow when the laughter finally died down. It landed on Katan.

"Truth or dare, Katan?" Link asked.

"Truth." She replied, wondering what would happen if she had chosen dare.

"Um…" Link thought for a moment. "Do you-"

"Wait! I change my mind!" Katan said, an idea in her mind of what he was going to ask.

"Is that legal?" Marth asked.

"Yes, cause Link hasn't asked the question yet. Go on Link, a dare." Samus stood up for Katan.

"Oh, okay. I dare you to…" he thought for a moment. Curse the no kissing rule! He looked at her appearance. "Well, its not as interesting as my dare was." Link glared at Marth, who grinned back. "I dare you to do the chicken dance."

Katan stood up with a grin, and began to do the chicken dance while the rest tried to hum the beat, but they couldn't stop from laughing.

When she was done, Katan reached out to spin the pen. It landed on Samus.

"Truth or dare, Sammy." Katan looked into Samus's emerald eyes.

"Truth."

"Do you have a crush on someone?" Katan now had an evil glint in her eye.

"Yes." Samus replied.

"Who?" Marth asked.

"Was it part of the question?" Katan turned on Marth, the evil glint gone.

"No."

Zelda got up and acted like she went to get something only to screech and attack Marth with a pillow.

"Pillow fight!" she yelled. Marth went down in a flurry of Zelda's pillow. The others rolled away to grab their pillows. Katan attacked Link, who turned and hit her in the stomach. Roy came from behind, only to have Samus attack him to help Katan recover. Pichu, who had woken up, jumped on Katan's shoulder again. Katan smiled and attacked Marth this time, who was beginning to overpower Zelda. Zelda turned and attacked Roy, while Samus went for Link. The battle went on until Marth complained that Link had hurt him. With a pillow.

Katan and Pichu disappeared into the hallway, only to reappear with Pichu's pillow and favorite blanket along with his lucky scarf. They finally settled down, and dropped off one by one to sleep.

* * *

Well, I could have posted this hours ago, but I managed to get almost all of the next chapter writen.! Hurray! I'll be posting as much as possible, so keep an eye out for the updates! I might be able to squeeze in two more today, depending on whether or not I get kicked from the computer.

Roy: I stll don't like the mistletoe idea, although at least you didn't make it with same sex groups.

Eliwood: Well, I must be going now. I have some peasants to deal with.

Marth: Good by, Lord Eliwood!

Link: Bye Eliwood! Hope to play some more poker with you soon!

Ardath: Good bye, milord!

Roy: I refuse to say good bye.

Yeah, good bye milord. Make sure you keep a room empty for me, so I don't have to stay in Roy's room! For if I do, Roy will have to sleep with the peasants!

Roy: What ever. Read and review, please! It makes the authoress happy!


	8. Under the Mistletoe

Roy: Wow, that was fast.

Well, I've been working all day. I'm feeling rather proud of myself.

Marth: Good Job. Today's special guest is... Katan herself!

Katan: ... (blink)

(Crickets)

Link: You don't have to shy. This is just a pre-story talk.

Katan: Um... Hello.

Good girl! Now someone disclaim please!

Link: Pyro Aru doesn't own squat.

Marth: except her ideas.

Roy: She does have plans on taking over Nintendo someday. And giving me more credit.

Katan: Don't look at me!

Young Link: Onward to Chapter 8

* * *

**Chapter 8: Under the Mistletoe**

The next week past, with the usual group making a lot of trips to Eula's weapon shop to autograph the replicas of their weapons Eula had made. The five sword masters made sure not to set down their actual swords, in fear of mixing them up. The replicas were very well made.

Finally, the morning the meeting was to be held came. The smashers meet in the Main Common room instead, after a change had been made. Luan had yet to return, and the killer had been silent. Someone did thought they saw someone sneaking away from the building though. DK was still recovering, but he was now allowed out of the hospital wing. He had thanked Katan so much, Katan was beginning to wonder if she should have just left him. (Lets just say she was getting annoyed.)

"Welcome, Smashers. Today is the day that the Cursed Mistletoe will be getting hung up, so you'd all better watch out whom you hang out with while walking through the halls. First I shall talk about the dance. I have gotten several requests to allow outsiders in for the dance. Crazy and I have decided to allow outsiders in for dances from now on."

There were some cheers from the smashers. Master Hand silenced them. "Also, we will be voting for a cutest couple at the dance on Christmas Day." Murmurs came from the crowd. "And all smashers are not required to come, but it is also a Christmas party, so please attend. Now, we are also going to have Secret Santa!"

Cheers came from most of the smashers. "Now, I have put everyone's names into this hat. Luan's name is not going to be in here, since he told me he was going to be out until a couple days after Christmas." Katan nodded. "So everyone's names are in here. Who ever gets Zelda and Sheik, well, I wish you good luck. I will be hanging a list up on the Main Hall doors that includes everyone's biggest wish for Christmas. It will only include the wishes for those who actually put their wishes on there, so please go and sign it as soon as possible.

Mario took the hat and past it around. Samus and Young Link got themselves while choosing, so they had to choose someone new. Roy reached into the hat and pulled out a name. He quickly covered it with his glove, then peaked at it. _Katan._ It said. His heart leaped. He had gotten one of his friends!

Ganondorf blinked at his paper. Popo seemed to look frightened, yet confused at the same time. Fox grinned at his. Kirby held his close, as if taunting someone to look at it. The smashers all had their own ways of expressing what they thought of their choice.

"Psst, Roy." Link whispered. "You, me, going to the mall, Saturday, okay?"

"Okay. Who did you get?" he whispered back.

"Marth. You?"

"Katan."

Link grinned. "Maybe we should take Zelda along." Roy nodded.

The smashers all began to chat. Master Hand then silenced them. "Now, bring your presents anytime, preferably when there is no one in this room. The tree will be brought in tomorrow. This year, who wants to help with the tree?"

Hands went up. Link grabbed Roy's hand.

"Okay, how about Link, Roy, Marth, Katan, Mario, Fox, and Captain Falcon, Mario being the leader. Meet here tomorrow afternoon. Peach, Jigglypuff, Popo, Nana, and Zelda are in charge of decorations, Ganondorf, Kirby, and Luigi are in charge of meals for the next couple of weeks. Samus, Mewtwo, Bowser, Ness, and DK if he feels up to it are in charge of firewood. Pikachu and Pichu are in charge of lights, and Young Link, Dr. Mario, and Falco are in charge of drinks. Agreed?"

A chorus of yes hit Master Hand. "Well then, we'll get to work tomorrow. And before you go, I'll warn you that the Cursed Mistletoe will change its own position every hour. It may end up in your doorways. So be careful! Dismissed!

The smashers almost left the room together, when they saw something hanging over the door. It was mistletoe. The Mistletoe was silver and gold, with little red berries. Cursed Mistletoe. Zelda grabbed Link and walked under it, giving him a giant smooch on the lips. The mistletoe shook, as it were alive, then let some fine dust fall from its cursed leaves. Zelda sneezed, while Link gave her another kiss and they were gone. There was some laughter as other couples walked under it, kissing their girlfriend or boyfriend. Katan couldn't help but laugh. Peach and Mario were about to go under, when it suddenly disappeared. It had moved somewhere else.

The rest of the day was spent dodging the randomly appearing mistletoe. Katan stayed with Samus and Zelda most of the day, not even daring to walk under it with the two girls, though they proved it didn't work with same sex couples.

* * *

Katan laid down wearily in her bed. She felt more tired than she should have. The day had been filled with laughter, especially when Popo and Nana had been caught in a door way by the cursed mistletoe. She couldn't wait. Peach and Samus had invited her to go to the mall to get their gifts for secret santa after a bit of decorating and getting the tree tomorrow.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door, and a little soft "_Pi…_" Katan got up and opened the door. There was Pichu, looking terrified. He had gone to bed early, like a good youngster should.

"What's the matter, Pichu?" Katan asked.

"I had a nightmare." Pichu cried. Katan scooped him up in her arms.

"There there, tell me what happened." Katan cooed softly, closing her door and taking Pichu to her bed.

"There was a monster…" Pichu hiccupped while he was sniveling and crying. "And he pushed me in the water. And I couldn't swim, so I died!" he let out a wail.

Katan smiled. Her brother used to have nightmares. "Its okay, you can sleep in here tonight." Katan offered.

"Really?" Pichu looked at her, sniveling.

"Yes. Shall we go get your blankey and scarf?" Katan asked.

"Yes, I'd like that." Pichu hiccupped again. Katan smiled, then carried him out the door, sticking her dagger in her pocket. They trudged silently down the dark corridor to Pichu's room. Katan opened the door…

Suddenly, water came whooshing out of the room. Katan jumped back, but she still got soaked. Pichu let out a little screech.

"Pichu!" Pikachu and Jigglypuff came flying out of their rooms, and Marth and Peach also appeared.

"What's going on?" Marth asked sleepily.

"The Killer just tried to kill Pichu!" Katan wanted to scream, but she managed to keep herself calm. She squeezed the little mouse, who was now wet like herself. She imagined seeing a shadow disappear through Pichu's window inside.

"It's okay." Roy appeared, holding a towel. Katan then realized Pichu's room was next to Roy's room.

She gladly took the towel he handed her and began to dry off Pichu, who was now sobbing harder than ever. Marth and Peach had hurried off to find Master Hand, while Pikachu and Jigglypuff bravely entered the room. Almost everything was soaked. The stuff on the shelves were dry, seeing as the water had only been up to about Katan's height. Katan stepped in, still hold Pichu, and looked at what was on the shelves. Then, with relief, she saw Pichu's scarf, along with some extra bedding for the cute little mouse. She grabbed these, giving Pichu his scarf.

Dr. Mario arrived and looked over Pichu. He looked to Katan. "Keep him warm and dry. He's gone into shock and needs a lot of comfort right now."

"Yes, sir." Katan nodded. Mewtwo and Ness appeared, and they went into the room, kicked out the two other pokemon, and went to work with their psychic powers.

"Katan, bring Pichu to my room. You two can sleep with me." Roy called, looking a bit grim.

"Thank you, Roy." Katan walked back to her room, Roy following for protection.

* * *

The next day, Pichu and Katan could not be separated. Katan got taken off the group for fetching a tree and instead got to help with the lights. They worked on untangling the lights, and allowed Pichu to amuse himself by allowing his unused electricity to turn the lights on. It helped a lot, allowing Katan and Pikachu to find dud lights and replace them.

By the time the tree arrived, the mansion had gone through a magnificent change. Peach's toads were running to all the rooms and giving them a change for Christmas. It was amazing. Almost all the rooms now had a cozy fireplace with large overstuffed armchairs. The firewood group brought some firewood in and stacked it in the firewood closet near the huge fireplace in the Main Common Room. Dreamy smells came from the kitchen, while the drinks groups had gone off to buy all the drinks they could use.

Fresh bread was cooling off in the kitchens while the cooking group was making a meal out of whatever was left. They were going to go out and go on a major grocery-shopping trip.

Finally, the tree arrived. It had taken all of the group to carry it in, it was so large. They took it into the Main Common Room, where Katan helped out.

She stuck the base on the base of the tree. She then pushed down while the others pushed up on the thinner end. The tree flew forward suddenly, nearly squashing Katan's foot, but Pichu pulled it out of the way in time. The tree was big, at least three times the size of Bowser. Almost immediately, toads, Zelda, Jigglypuff, and all the other decorators attacked the tree. Soon, the three who had been working on the lights joined in. Peach had her toads decorate the rest of the mansion with lights as well.

The Garden in the middle of the mansion (The mansion is shaped as a giant square with a hole in its middle. There is a garden and fishpond in the middle. There are a few balconies that over look the garden, while the outside ones overlook the fields, forest, and the fountain.) was soon covered with tiny lights and the few little trees in it were also covered with lights and weather proof ornaments.

One of the trees was covered with silver tinsel. Each of the smashers put an ornament on that tree and the one in the Main Common Room. The ornaments were "hand made" by Master Hand and given to the smashers. Each one was something they liked; a dove, lovebirds, a music note, a spark of lightning, a scarf, a dragon, a sword, whatever the smashers liked. Some of the smashers gave each other ornaments for their personal trees that the Toads set up in the rooms too. Candles were set out, holly hung around rooms, Cursed Mistletoe getting in the way, and so much activity going on. Soon, the mansion was done. Decorations were everywhere, stockings hung over the fire place, and the tree, the beautiful tree. The decorators had done a marvelous job on the tree. It almost didn't look real, it was so beautiful.

Finally, Master Hand inspected the house. He looked at the decorations, the food in the kitchen, and the tree in the common room. He looked at the tree, then reached into a pocket and brought out a star. It was glowing softly. He lifted himself into the air and put the star at the top of the tree. Everyone began to cheer. It was going to be a good Christmas.

* * *

Another week came and went, leaving only a day and a half until Christmas Eve. Roy still couldn't figure out what Katan would love. He had already gotten her some chocolate caramels, like it had said on the list that she liked, and a new dagger, but he wasn't quite sure what else she would want. He had also put a silver ribbon in a little box to give to here to tie her hair up. He was very curious of what she had gotten for her friends, or what his secret Santa got him. He wrapped the dagger carefully in tissue paper before wrapping it in a special paper his father had sent him for wrapping. It was supposed to be made from a plant on the Dread Isles and that Lord Pent and Lilina made it for him to give to his special someone. He remembered how he had once had a crush on Lilina. But Lilina loved someone else. His friend Wolt. Now he was glad she didn't love him, but was only a close friend. For now, his mind was focused on Katan.

He couldn't deny her beauty, or her mastery with a blade. Even in battle she was beautiful. He wondered if she felt the same.

"Roy?" Link banged on his door.

"Come in, its unlocked." Roy called.

Link came in. "Hey Roy, how is your gift wrapping going?" Link grinned. Roy thought about the bow that he had gotten for Link from Eula. He hoped that he liked it.

"Great, this is the last one. For you know who." Roy told him. Link suddenly grinned.

"Roy, you should tell her how you feel." Link smiled softly at his friend, who stiffened up. "And don't deny it. You've been so caring for her ever since you two met."

Roy blushed as he finished wrapping the present. "I know I should, but…"

"You're too timid." Marth finished. He stood in the door way, closing the door behind him.

"Yes." Roy sighed.

The three were silent. "Say, can you help me carry these presents downstairs? I can sneak in my secret gift." Roy asked.

"Sure." Roy picked up Katan's secret gift. The not secret gift he had gotten her was a carving of a little dragon with blue eyes. Not anywhere as blue as hers, but still a pretty little blue.

The boys carried the presents downstairs. The looked and saw several smashers outside playing in the foot and a half of snow. "Lets go join them!" Marth put the presents under the tree, then rushed to his room. Link and Roy grinned, then disappeared to their rooms. When the three came out, they were dressed for the cold temperature. Marth even had a hat. (Not that Link still doesn't have his hat.)

Popo, Nana, Pichu, Pikachu, Ness, Katan, Young Link, Zelda, and Samus were outside. Katan and Pichu were making a snowman that looked like a deformed version of Kirby. The Ice Climbers, Young Link, Zelda and Pikachu were making an igloo, while Samus and Ness were having a snowball fight.

"Hey there, mind if we join you?" Marth asked.

"No, we don't mind." Young Link grinned. Marth joined the snowball fight, Link building the igloo, and Roy joined the snowman building.

Marth threw another snowball, but it missed both Samus and Ness, and hit Young Link. Young Link thought it was Roy, so he threw one at Roy. Roy threw one at Popo, and soon the snowman and igloo were forgotten as the smashers split into teams for a major snowball fight.

Ness threw a ball and hit Katan in the neck. She let out a shiver. _Great Katan, you didn't wear a scarf. _She yelled at herself.

"Here." Roy gave Katan his scarf. "I think it's a little too warm for me."

Katan stared at him for a moment, her heart beating. She slowly took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck. It was warm and smelt of Roy.

"Thanks, Roy." Katan smiled at him.

"No problem." He smiled back.

The snowball fight lasted until after dark. Only then, when the smashers were freezing, did they go inside, kicking the snow off their boots. Katan and several of the others took hot showers to get the feeling back in their numb bodies. After she dried her hair, Katan slipped her bare feet into some slippers and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She stopped at Pichu's room and waited for the little mouse. Finally, he hopped out and cuddled in her arms. She really couldn't wait for the dance tomorrow. But she still didn't have the guts to ask Roy if he was still free.

While she made her way to the Main Hall for dinner, she ran into Roy.

"Hey Roy!" she tried to feel brave. Every time she ran into him her heart seemed to flutter.

"Hi, Katan." Roy smiled at her.

Pichu had spotted the food in the Main Room. "I'm going ahead, Katana." He squeaked and zipped into the Main Hall, leaving Roy and Katan alone.

Roy looked at her. He wanted to ask her if she was free for the dance. But he couldn't open his mouth.

"Say Kat…" he managed to begin.

"Yes?" she blinked at him.

"I was wondering…" Roy hesitated. It shouldn't be this hard! "Well… I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me…"

Katan blinked. "Um… Sure, I'd love to Roy!"

As if someone were making fun of them and the awkward position they were in, a bit of the Cursed Mistletoe suddenly appeared above them. Katan didn't notice, but Roy did.

"Oh…" Roy looked at it dumbfound. It seemed to be mocking him. Katan looked at what he was looking at, and her face went first white, then red.

The looked at each other. "I guess… we have to kiss…" Roy gulped.

Katan blushed some more. "Yeah…"

Each waited for the other to make a move. Finally, Roy grabbed her around the waist and kissed her.

It wasn't a short little embarrassed kiss. It stretched out. Roy was surprised that she didn't pull away. He wanted to go further, but he couldn't breath. They broke apart at the same time. Looking back up, the mistletoe was gone, but the little powder was sprinkling down on them. Suddenly, they heard clapping. Looking over, they saw Link, Zelda, Marth and Samus. Marth was clapping, his eyes looked teary.

"Our little Roy and Katan are growing up." He leaned over on Link's shoulder and began to fake cry. Katan laughed, very embarrassed. Roy joined in, and the group went into the Main Hall. Katan seemed a bit distant now. Pichu waved to her from his place with the other young smashers. She waved back weakly.

Dinner wasn't very extravagant. Just some pasta Luigi had made. After that, the smashers retired to their rooms. Pichu and Katan disappeared into her room, Roy to his, and the rest of the usual group to Marth's room.

"It's too bad they kissed because of the mistletoe." Zelda sighed. "I know that Katan really likes Roy."

"Same with Roy. He told us he was too timid to tell her though." Marth was actually acting serious for once.

"We should try and set them up some how. Go to the mall, send them into some store together, do something." Samus told them. They looked at her. "What?"

"Although Samus doesn't usually talk about those kind of things, she's right." Zelda said.

"Roy's secret Santa." Link looked up. "Roy got Katan a present for secret Santa. We could talk to Master Hand about it. Have the 'Santa' take his or her secret Santa out of the room to give them their presents. I know Roy doesn't like what he gave Katan. He wants to give her something else. Maybe we should hint at telling her?" Link planned out.

"Yes, its perfect." Zelda smiled. "I'm going to Master Hand right now. Link, come with me, would you?"

"Yes ma'am." Link grinned, and winked at Marth.

* * *

Zelda and Link hurried to Master Hand's office. They knocked, and heard a gruff "enter" from Master Hand.

"Hello Master Hand." Zelda smiled. Peach and Mario were there too. They might be able to help. "Link and I, and Marth and Samus have a request to make."

"Yes?" Master Hand sat back in his chair.

"Well, you see, Roy and Katan, they sort of have a crush on each other." Link explained. "But they're both too shy to tell each other how they feel."

Master Hand 'nodded' at Link.

"So, we were wondering, if when we open the secret Santa gifts tomorrow night (They decided to open the secret Santa gifts on Christmas Eve) we could send each pair into the hall, or behind the tree, or into another room." Zelda explained.

Master Hand looked thoughtful. "I like the behind the tree idea. It will leave them hidden. I like it, but what will make sure they realize that they like each other?"

"Letters." Peach grinned as she saw the wondering look on her friend's faces. "We'll send them both letters."

"That's a good idea. We'll slip them under the door. We could wait until they are asleep and have Ness and Mewtwo get them to write their own letters too." Link grinned.

"That's-a great-a idea! You-a are such-a nice friends for-a them." Mario then pressed some buttons on an intercom. "Will Ness and Mewtwo please report to Master Hand's office?"

After five minutes, the two psychics came in through the door. "You called?" Ness looked at them both.

"Yes. Okay, here's the plan. We're going to…"

* * *

Roy opened his balcony. It was one of the inner balconies. He stepped out, looking at the snow in the garden.

"What about those ones?" came a squeaky voice. He looked and saw Katan and Pichu. They were looking at the stars.

"That is the Pegasi. He flies on wings of pure white with a mane of gold whipping in the wind. His hooves are like diamonds, hard and nearly unbreakable." Katan told the little mouse.

"Wow. Where did you learn all of this?" Pichu asked.

"From where I grew up, a place that isn't reachable by Nintenians, except the dragons. We had the same night sky, and my mentor showed me them all. I think I might invite my mentor and his lady to the get together. They were the only family I ever knew…" Katan looked sadly to the sky. "Other than Luan."

Roy smiled sadly and went back inside. He was tired. He climbed into bed, and was immediately asleep. As he slept, a tall dark figure snuck into his room…

* * *

Katan and Pichu looked at the stars for over two hours before Pichu finally fell asleep. Katan picked him up gently. He reminded her of her brother when he was little.

Katan settled into her bed after tucking Pichu into his little box where he now slept. Katan was like his big sister, and he was too frightened of the water in his room to sleep in there again. But Katan understood and gratefully took him under her wing. She thought of little more as she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Roy: You wouldn't dare.

Heh heh heh...

Marth: How sad, Katan is going to be so sad.

Katan: I'm right here.

Link: Well, we don't want to make this long, so Read And Review!

I'm not so sure if I'm going to be able to finish another chapter tonight. Maybe. Also, we need someone for our next Special Guest. Suggestions are welcome.


	9. Shadow of Christmas Eve

Well, everyone, I'm going to tell you this right now. There are only one or two chapters left for this story.

Roy: Is that good or bad?

Marth: it depends, actually. It could be bad, it could be bad.

Link: There is something else you want to tell everyone, right? Oh, by the way, our special guest is... Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist!

Ed: Hey.

Well, that's better than some of the other guests. Anyways, I'll just let Roy tell you all what else I have in mind!

Roy: a sequel.

Edward: Do you guys get paid for this? Will I get paid?

Link: No, we do this of our own accord. Except the authoress.

Edward: Why?

Ardath: Because I'm here. (Holds sword to authoress's throat.) Now write

(sweatdrop) But you're just a figment of my imagination!

Ardath: Not anymore... (evil cackle)

Edward: Wow, that's scary. Pyro Aru doesn't own anything except her ideas. And she used to own Ardath, but... I think its the other way around now.

All: Onward to chapter nine!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Shadow of Christmas Eve**

Roy yawned. He had sleep rather well that night. He looked at the clock. It was 8:49 am.

"Holy horses! How did I sleep in so late!" Roy jumped up and changed into some more suitable clothes. He quickly brushed his teeth and hair, then grabbed his headband and pulled it on. He was about to open the door when he saw something at the bottom of his door. A letter.

He picked it up. He looked at it, then opened it neatly. Unfolding the letter inside, he read the note. It was in Katan's handwriting.

_Dear Roy,_

_Heh, I feel like such a chicken. I should have come to you in person, but, well, I'm a bit timid. Zelda told me since I couldn't do this in person, I should write a letter. And here it is. Well, here goes nothing… My secret is that I love you._

_Katana Ren_

Roy stared at the letter. He read it again, and again. Something blossomed in his heart. _She loves me… She loves me…_Roy thought over and over. He opened the door and went to get some breakfast. He needed to think a bit. And he needed to talk to Katan.

The Main Hall was noisier than ever. Someone had made French toast for breakfast. Roy looked around, but Katan wasn't there. In fact, none of the girls were there.

Link waved him over. Marth turned and grinned at him. "Hey Roy boy."

"Hey. Have you seen Katan? I need to talk to her." Roy was feeling confident now.

"Oh, the girls went back to the mall. They're going to be back just before we open presents. They took bags with them, so they must be doing something girlish. Pichu went with them, like usual." Link told Roy.

Roy sighed, sitting down. "Darn."

"Why?" Marth winked at Link.

"Well, Katan left a letter under my door. A love letter." Roy showed them the letter. They tried not to laugh. "I wanted to tell her."

Marth nodded wisely and passed Roy the syrup for his toast. "Don't worry, they'll be back. Did you ask her to the dance? I asked Samus, and she said yes. She said yes!"

"Yes. She accepted too. That's when the mistletoe appeared." Roy blushed as he remembered the kiss yesterday. His hand touched his lips, as if he had just kissed her again.

"Don't worry, now eat up. We're going to learn some dancing." Link grinned.

The day past quickly. The girls were still out, the boys were being taught to dance by none other than Mario and Luigi. DK was finally up and about, though his arm was still useless. His girlfriend, Candy, was coming. The boys were a bit nervous, seeing as this was their first dance ever for most of them. Even Marth was feeling nervous. He wanted to impress the Bounty Huntress.

Finally, the boys went to their rooms, showered, and got ready. Link left his hair the way it was, only without the hat. He wore a tuxedo that was black as the night, with a little white flower in the pocket on the front.

Marth also wore a tuxedo black as coal. He put a little orange flower in the pocket. His hair was slicked back, and he took out his tiara. He made sure his teeth were sparkling white.

Roy left his hair as it usually was. A living flame on his head, as he liked to think about it. His tux was obsidian black, with a pale blue flower. He took out his head band and tamed his wild hair a little bit. He chewed on a mint and got a rose for his Katan.

He was going to tell her how he felt. Tonight, when he gave her the presents he had gotten her. He even planned one last present.

He met the other boys in the Common Room. They were all restless. Mewtwo was the only one not wearing a tux. He remained a purple cat like pokemon. Link could hardly believe that Mewtwo even had a date.

Finally the girls arrived. Zelda wore a tight dress of light purple. Her golden hair was pulled back in a small bun, her lips ruby red. She wore little earrings shaped as a triforce.

Samus wore a pale orange dress. It wasn't as tight as Zelda's, but it still showed off her great figure. Her golden hair was in a ponytail, smooth and silky under the light. Her lips were also ruby red.

Katan wore a blue dress, similar to Samus's dress, except that the dress had been cut so one side of the bottom of the dress revealed up to her knee while the other went down to her ankle. Her shoulders were bare, for the dress was strapless; her obsidian hair was down, flowing like liquid silk. On her head was a Santa hat that glowed pure rose red and snow white. She like Zelda and Samus wore ruby red lipstick.

Pichu wore a little tuxedo with a little fragile looking yellow flower. He was holding onto Katan's dress, looking for all the world like a shy little brother. The girls enter the room and looked for their dates. Zelda, Samus, Katan, and Pichu made their way to Link, Roy, and Marth, who were all stunned by the perfect beauty of the girls.

"Holy-" Roy started.

"Goddesses-" Link continued with wide eyes.

"Of Altea." Marth's jaw dropped.

Katan blushed. Roy stood up and offered her his seat.

"Why thank you, Roy." Katan sat down. Roy sat on the floor next to her. The other boys followed suit. Pichu sat on Roy's lap.

"Is everyone here yet?" Master Hand asked. Krystal looked up from giving Fox a big smooch.

"I think so, Master." Krystal smiled. Fox had a dreamy look on his face.

"Okay. For those of you who aren't smashers, you'll just have to wait a bit longer. We did a Secret Santa this year, and we need to get it out of the way. When Mario calls your name, grab the present for your secret Santa and take them behind the tree. Give them your present, and have a quick chat. Max time is three minutes. Okay, Mario."

Mario cleared his throat. "First up is Link." He called.

Link grabbed his present and grabbed Marth's arm. Marth raised his eye brows and called back to Zelda. "Don't worry, Zelly, I won't do anything to him. Maybe."

The smashers laughed. Silence ensued. Then there was a gasp, and Marth appeared from behind the door waving a book. "Oh, its just what I've always wanted, Linky! _One hundred and one Pranks that actually Work_!" Marth hugged Link. "Thank you Linky!" (That is not a real book, thankfully.)

Mario then called Zelda. She took Pikachu behind the tree. She came back carrying Pikachu, with a big lipstick print on his cheek. Link gave her a fake offended look. Pikachu was holding a CD. His little eyes were teary. "I've always wanted this! Thank you!"

Several more names were called. Marth was called. He took Popo behind the tree, and came back with Popo holding a new Hammer. Popo gave him a high five before they sat back down. Peach was called, and she took Link back, then reappeared. Link had a new ocarina.

Ganondorf was called, and he gently picked up Pichu, and took him behind the tree. When they came back, Pichu had a hat that matched his little scarf. He squealed, hugging the ex-evil sorcerer. Samus gave Captain Falcon some new racing goggles, Yoshi gave Samus a gift card to a gun store, and Nana gave Zelda and Sheik a romance book.

Finally Mario called Roy. He gulped, and grabbed his present, then took Katan's hand. She looked surprised. He led the way behind the tree.

"Here you go, Kat." Roy gave her the presents. She unwrapped them carefully. Her eyes lit up with each one.

"Thank you so much Roy!" Katan smiled one of her beautiful smiles at him.

"There is something else…" Roy took a breath.

"Something else?" Katan whispered.

"Katan, I love you." He looked at her. Her blue eyes showed shock. Then she smiled.

"I love you too Roy." She whispered back. They remained silent a moment longer, staring into the other's blue eyes. Roy then leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"But that's not all." Roy whispered. He back up a bit, then wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her passionately.

They stayed there the entire three minutes. Just kissing tenderly. Finally, they broke apart.

"I don't know what I would do with out you, Kat." Roy whispered, taking her hand again.

"Me neither, Roy." Katan allowed him to pull her back to the group. "Me neither."

The group was grinning like mad. They knew their plan had worked.

"What?" Roy looked at them.

"You both got letters this morning, right?" Link asked.

"Yes." Roy and Katan chimed.

The group burst out laughing. "It really worked!" Zelda smiled.

"We sent those letters." Marth laughed. "With the help of Mewtwo and Ness of course.

The teens blushed, but they were happy. "I guess we have to thank you then, don't we?" Katan asked.

"Well, I'd hope so." Marth frowned for a moment.

"Katan!" Mario called. Katan stood up and grabbed her present, then grabbed Ness. She took him back behind the tree.

"So Roy how was it? We know you gave her a big smooch." Marth grinned.

"It… felt right." Was all Roy could say as Ness and Katan reappeared, Ness carrying a new Home run bat.

Soon all the presents were passed out. The couples, some happier than others, made their way to the Main hall, which had undergone a transformation. Instead of the tables being in the middle, they had been pushed off to the side, leaving a spotless floor. There were several Butler Toads, and Professional cook Toads. There were several different types of cider, and some wine for the older smashers. It was under close watch by one of the Cook Toads.

The smashers found tables, where they chatted for a bit. Finally, Crazy Hand went to the Sound system that had been set up. He turned on some dance music. "Rocking around the Christmas Tree" played first.

"Would you like to dance?" Roy asked Katan.

"I'd love to, Roy boy." Katan stood up and they went onto the dance floor with several of the other smashers. Link and Zelda joined them, and soon after, Samus and Marth. Young Link and Nana were dancing like the kids they still were. Kirby and Jigglypuff were dancing and talking about a long future together. Pichu was with Pikachu, and his date, another pokemon named Minun. Mewtwo and his date, Mew were dancing high above the smashers. Fox and Krystal were really getting down on the dance floor. It was all so fun.

After an hour of hard dancing to swing and soft rock, all Christmas related, some of the smashers had sat down. The current song was soft, a classic Christmas love song. Roy and Katan had their head together and their eyes closed as they swayed softly with the music. Link, Zelda, Marth, and Samus watched.

"I'm so glad we helped them out." Samus smiled. "I know who I'm voting for cutest couple tonight."

"Same here." Link stood. "Zelda, would you like some more cider?"

"Yes please." Zelda gave Link a kiss as he bent down to grab her cup.

"You know, Samus." Marth looked at Samus. "I think I've learned something from Roy."

"Hmm?" Samus looked over to Marth, only to get kissed on the lips by the blue haired swordsman.

"Go Marth!" Ganondorf yelled from another table. Several other smashers whooped and laughed.

Marth sat back down, some of Samus's lipstick on his mouth. "Wow Samus, you sure can kiss."

"You're the only one that's ever going to know it Marthy." This time Samus kissed Marth. More of the smashers cheered. Some of the dancers looked up. Roy and Katan were too deep in their new little world to care.

Finally, the song ended. Roy and Katan sat down, hand in hand. They looked at the grinning Samus and Marth, who's eyes were closed.

"Did we miss something?" Roy asked.

"Marth and Samus kissing. That's all." Link replied sarcastically.

"Woot, go Marth!" Katan laughed. Marth opened an eye.

"Heh. Tastes like cherry." He grinned. Samus slapped him playfully.

The group did several more dances, and then sat down. The votes were being tallied for Cutest Couple, who would lead the dance the following day.

"It feels like Christmas is already over." Samus commented. Pichu had returned and fallen asleep on Katan's lap like usual. It was well past his bed time.

"Yeah. I've gotten some of the greatest gifts today. Too bad Luan isn't here. This is probably the best Christmas ever!" Katan smiled at Roy. She was still holding his large hand.

"Attention all smashers and nonsmashers!" Master Hand bellowed. "After watching the slow dance earlier, the votes have been tallied for Cutest Couple of the Evening. The Winners are…"

DK did a drumroll to the best of his ability. Candy, his girlfriend, stood at his side, as if protecting him.

"Katan and Roy! Congratulations!" Master Hand announced. A beam of light fell on Katan and Roy, who were looking around. All the smashers beamed at them.

After one final dance, the party began to break up. Katan and Roy, along with the still sleeping Pichu, headed back to Roy's room.

Katan stopped and looked up. There was some more of the cursed mistletoe. Roy bumped into her. "What is it?" he asked. Katan tackled him in another kiss. Roy smiled in his mind, and decided to go further than usual. He poked his tongue at Katan's lips, which parted in response. They remained in the middle of the hallway, frenching for several minutes. They broke apart. With a giggle, Katan kissed Pichu, just incase. The glittering dust fell, landing on them heavier than ever.

They began walking, holding hands. A shadow watched in jealousy. Somehow, he was going to have to get rid of Roy, and the new addition of Pichu. Somehow…

That's it, feel your jealousy. Feel your hatred. They took her away, didn't they? 

"Yes. And I'll get her back." The shadow disappeared. One of his eyes was red, the other cobalt blue.

Katan yawned. It was Christmas morning. She stretched, then realized that she wasn't in her usual room. She looked around. Roy was next to her. She felt herself. Good, she still had clothes on, if barely any. Her body ached all the same, especially her shoulders and head. She was sure she hadn't drunk any of that wine last night…

Her dress lay on the floor. Slipping out of the blankets, she pulled it on.

"Good Morning, beautiful." Roy mumbled. He sat up and realized he had barely any clothes on. "We didn't…"

"No." Katan replied thankfully. They didn't need problems like sex right now. "I'm going to go to my room and get something else on."

"Why? You look good in that dress." Roy replied.

Katan blushed. "Yeah, but its cold. I'll wear it for you again, Roy boy." She picked up the sleeping bundle that was Pichu and disappeared into the hallway. She was only gone four minutes when shouting and screaming could be heard. Roy buried his head.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" The younger smashers were screaming.

"Shut up!" That was Marth. He had been drinking some wine last night. Maybe he had gotten a hang over.

The mansion was silent once again. Roy finished getting dressed, then stepped out into the hall, only to get tackled by Young Link. "Its Christmas!" he whispered loudly.

"I know." Roy mumbled.

Young Link then tackled the next person to come out of their room. It was Fox and Krystal. Roy laughed to himself and went to Katan's room. Before he could enter, Young Link and the Ice Climbers popped up.

"Roy, have you seen Ness?" Popo asked.

"No." Roy replied. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard a deafening screech and a roar. He went into Katan's room. What he saw made him want to scream.

The room had been all but destroyed. There were burnt books everywhere, the beds were reduced to fluff, and the sink and toilet in the bathroom were spurting out water. Katan and Pichu were nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a scream was heard. Zelda! Roy ran to what was left of the balcony and saw something that took his breath away.

A pure black dragon was trying to snap at Zelda. On its back was Pichu and Ness, who were trying to calm the dragon down.

"Hey you, leave Zelda alone!" Roy yelled. "What did you do with Katan!"

The dragon swiveled its head around. He froze. Sitting on its head was a tiny little dragon that was a war of whites, silvers, and blacks, with cobalt blue eyes.

"Luan!" Roy yelled. Luan snorted. The black dragon eyed Roy, a look of sorrow in its great blue eyes. There was only one other person Roy knew with such blue eyes.

"Katan? Katan, is that you?" Roy looked horrified. This was a mistake. The dragon roared, then flapped her wings, taking off into the air. A tiny packet fell at Roy's feet. It was labeled _Roy._ Roy grabbed it, tearing it open. Two dragonstones fell out, one Katan's, and the other a fiery red one. Roy suddenly felt like his increased in strength tenfold. He ran back into the hallway, jumped down the stairs, and flung himself out of the mansion. He raced after the dragon, not noticing Marth and Link following him.

"What's going on?" Roy saw Marth and Link join him to either side.

"I don't know… Katan's turned into a dragon, Luan's back, and Ness and Pichu are with them!" Roy explained. Marth stuck his foot out and tripped Roy. Roy did a summersault in the grass.

"What was that for!" he yelled at Marth.

"Roy, calm down!" Link held Roy back as he started to go to punch the older swordsman.

"My girlfriend has just turned into a dragon and flown away and you want me to calm down!" He yelled.

"You should." Came a dark voice. The three turned and saw Luan standing there. But something was different. Something was wrong. Luan's usually cobalt eyes were now maroon, and looking quite deadly.

"You…" Roy growled. "You're the killer, aren't you?"

"Oh, you think little Luan is a killer, eh?" Luan laughed. It wasn't Luan's voice. "I don't suppose you would recognize me, huh? After all, last time you saw me I looked old, didn't I?" the voice cackled. "No, I've just taken this boy's body. I of course had to teach him jealousy and hate, but you, Roy, made it all the easier. You and that little lightning rat. But now, I have complete control over this dragonling. For I am none other than your 'friend' as you used to call me, I am none other than Eula, the seller of weapons."

The boys looked at him dumbfound. Eula? Evil? "But… You didn't seem evil…" Marth blinked.

"Of course not. I had to act nice to get to you." Eula grinned.

"Why do you want to kill the smashers!" Link roared, drawing his bow.

"Why? Why he asks. I don't have a reason. Only that my master told me to." Eula laughed, his laugh like rust.

"Marth! Link! Roy!" Samus called. She was rushing to them, not wearing her armor. Eula grinned, then pulled out a gun. Before anyone could do anything, he shot. The bullet whizzed by Marth's head, and hit Samus in the chest. In the heart. A crimson flower bloomed from her chest as she fell on her face in the grass.

"Samus!" Marth screamed. This was a nightmare come true.

* * *

Well, was that surprising? I didn't originally intend for this to happen on Christmas Day, but it did. I want to start the sequel, it sounds more interesting. The sequel will involve more of an adventure theme. We'll meet Eula's master, and there will be a twist of events and surprises! 

Link: What kind of surprises?

Roy: she's not going to tell you. And thank you for not getting too mushy with the kissing, though I rather don't like the French Kissing part.

Heh, I usually don't do that kind of mushy stuff. But I did, and well, I think that's as far as I'll go in this story. I might take it further in the sequel...

Marth: Poor Samus. Poor poor Samus. Death at the hands of an Authoress.

Ardath: You're so mean! But R&R, and I'll give you some cake!


	10. Promise

Ah, how annoying the stupid Internet browser can be. I had this done days ago, yet it wouldn't let me log in. How stupid was that?

Roy: Stupid?

Ardath: I think Roy has a point. Thanks to Melyy for the tips on being patient, eh?

Marth: Ardath has a point there. So did Melyy, though I have a feeling...

That it pissed me off more? yeah, more or less.

Link: Well, This is it folks. The last Chapter For **All For One, One For All**. The sequel is already being planned out and written, eh?

Ardath: Yep. We're going to included a preview in the next chapter from this, along with some of the measly credits, mainly all for Nintendo, eh?

And the thank yous. Can't forget those.

Marth: Right.

Everyone for the Last time: Onward to Chapter 10!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Promise**

Marth rolled Samus over gently and held his hand over the wound. With his other hand, he grabbed her slim soft left hand, the only hand she had.

"I'm sorry Marth." Samus coughed. Roy and Link looked down at her sadly. It had only been weeks earlier that she had sat all by herself, friends with barely anyone.

"Roy, Link, you are my brothers. Zelda and Peach and Katan my sisters. Marth, you are my love. I won't forget…"

"No, Samus, you can't die!" tears streamed down Marth's face. But it was too late. With a smile, Samus faded away, letting out a sigh, knowing her one true love loved her.

Marth kissed her gently, holding his face to her lifeless one. They had only shared so many kisses… He then stood up, drawing his sword. He limped towards Eula, his face hidden. He paused when a scrap of paper flew through the air, landing at Roy's feet.

Roy picked it up. Katan had written it.

Roy, we don't have much time. Get the smashers out of here. A monster has possessed my brother. Pichu, Ness, and I have found his power source. We're going to blow it. It's magical, so everyone will be sent back to his or her homes. I'm so sorry, Roy. I hope I'll see you again. Promise me we'll never be apart, if not for long. Promise me. I love you, Roy.

_Katana Ren_

Roy's eyes widened. "Katan!" he screamed, looking up. But it was too late. A bright light was filling the sky as he read the letter. It began to get wider, swallowing everything in its path. Marth, ignoring it, flung himself at Eula, who was watching the light, fear in his eyes. He turned too late as Marth stabbed Falchion into Eula's head.

"Katan! Katan!" Roy cried. The light came closer.

"Roy! Run!"

I can't… she's gone…A memory flashed through his head. 

"_I don't know what I would do with out you, Kat." Roy whispered, taking her hand again._

"_Me neither, Roy." Katan allowed him to pull her back to the group. "Me neither."_

The light swallowed Roy. It swallowed Marth as he grabbed Samus's lifeless hand, a bloody Falchion lying at his side. Link ran to the mansion and hugged his fellow Hyrulians, even Ganondorf as the light swallowed everything. It was the end of Nintendo. The different homes split apart, becoming new planets and spreading out. None of the smashers remained conscious.

* * *

Roy felt like he was floating. A ghost maybe. He looked and watched as a black dragon landed, shrinking in size. It turned to Katan. Ness and Pichu jumped off her. She sat up, huffing painfully. She crawled forward. Lying on the grass was a machine. In the center of it was Luan's dragonstone.

"_Heh, I never thought he would do such a thing… And it was supposed to be for me…_" _Katan mumbled weakly. She sat by the machine, Pichu and Ness to either side of her._

"We're going to-" Katan raised her hand to her chest and sighed. "Samus is gone." 

"Samus?" Ness looked at her.

"_Her life force, its gone. I can feel Marth's pain." Katan looked sad. She scribbled on a piece of paper, then murmured to it. "Find Roy." She said to it. The paper floated away like a dart. Katan waited a moment, tears dropping from her eyes. "Promise me, Roy. Promise."_

"I promise." Roy said. "I promise."

_Katan then pushed some buttons on the machine. It burst into white light. Ness and Pichu grabbed Katan's now tattered dress, fear showing in their eyes._

"_We may not survive this. We're so close to it." Pichu squeaked. He seemed wise beyond his years._

"_At least we'll suffer no more." Katan hung her head. "No more…"

* * *

_

"He's waking up!" Roy opened his aching eyes. Where was he? He wasn't in his room. No, wait. He was in his room, but the one in Pherae!

"What… How did I get here?" he looked around. Next to him was a man and his father, who looked frail.

"You fell from the sky." The man told Roy. He turned to Eliwood. "You know, even if he has blue eyes, they still remind me of Ninian.

Eliwood smiled. "Actually, I always thought he reminded me of you."

Roy blinked. Suddenly, the past caught up to him. Katan, Samus's death, Luan being controlled…

"Katan!" Roy tried to jump up. But Eliwood held him down.

"What did you say?" the man asked.

Roy began to cry. He was a warrior, he shouldn't be crying! But he cried all the same. "Katan… she's gone…"

The man shook his head. "And here I kept telling her to stay on the Dread Isles, until that brat couldn't stay here any longer."

Eliwood looked between the two. "Well, Roy, now that you're awake…" he looked to his son, who sniveled like a little boy. "I'd might as well introduce you. This is your uncle, Nils."

Nils nodded to Roy. "You are Katan's mentor?" Roy looked at Nils.

"Yes, Katan and the brat's. Let me guess, something happened, and it was Luan's fault." Nils snorted.

"Yes. He let hate and jealousy take over. Then someone used that to take over his body and… Kill some of our friends. And maybe even Katan. She destroyed Luan's dragonstone."

Nils winced. "Youch, that hurts."

Roy blinked, tears messing with his vision. "You know, when a dragonstone is broken, most of the time a dragon dies. The explosion following can destroy a planet. Sometimes when a dragon dies, their stone disappears. Few stones remain without the body.

Roy then remembered. Katan had dropped two stones. He reached into his armor, feeling for the stones. Sure enough, they were still there, warm to the touch. Roy pulled them out.

"Well I'll be…" Nils looked at the one Roy didn't know who's owner it was. He held Katan's stone. It had lost almost all its glow, and looked dull. The other continued to glow strong.

"Roy… This is yours." Nils reached out and gave him the stone back. Roy looked at it, as if his life depended on it. "Now who's is that?"

"Katan's. She dropped it." Roy gave it to him. Nils knotted his brow.

"Well, if she's still alive, she's not in good condition. I might be able to scry her from our world." Nils looked at Roy.

"No, I don't want to know. I dreamt… I had a vision of her last moments. She blew the stone, and one of her friends said they wouldn't survive the blast." Roy replied.

Eliwood smiled sadly. "Young love. How it can hurt…"

Nils looked at Eliwood. "Before I go… Can I visit Ninian one last time? At least for a while."

"Of course, Nils. You can stay as long as you'd like. Lyn was on her way here. She wanted to see you."

"Lady Lyn? I'd love to see her again. I was but a dragonet when I last saw her, it seems." Nils stood and stretched. "I've done all I can for Roy. But his heart will have to heal on its own."

Eliwood and Nils disappeared into the hallway. Roy stared at Katan's last gift. Her dragonstone. It glowed feebly.

Suddenly, shouts and cries rang through the air. "Roy!" he heard his father yell.

Roy dropped the stones into his pocket. He would never set those stones down anywhere. For his and Katan's sakes, even if she had died.

Roy met his father and Nils in the front hall. Marcus, Eliwood's trusty General Paladin, stood behind him, silver lance in hand. Soldiers lined the walls. Roy recognized Merlinus, Isadora, Marcus's wife, and Lowen. Roy made his way to Marcus's side.

"Milord." Marcus bowed.

"What's going on?" Roy asked, his voice flat and monotone.

Marcus looked at Roy, noticing the sadness that hung around the young lord. "There are guests outside."

Roy nodded and looked forward. The door opened to a familiar sight. Marth stood in the door, his cape billowing, blood stained and tattered. Roy cringed when he saw the haunted look on his face. He had actually witnessed the death of Samus. Roy felt for him.

"Lord Marth of Altea. Welcome. What brings you here?" Eliwood asked. Nils raised a curious eyebrow.

"I'm looking for Roy." Marth spoke, his voice strained. Roy stepped forward.

"Yes Marth?" Roy asked.

Marth remained silent. "Its true isn't it? Or was it some nightmare?"

Roy's heartbeat. "Its true. A nightmare come true."

Marth came forward until he stood in front of Roy. Roy never noticed how Marth was the same height as the Young General. Then he broke. Marth hugged Roy and began to cry.

"I'll never see her again…" Marth whispered. Eliwood waved the soldiers away. Isadora and Marcus remained, guiding Marth to another room where he could weep privately.

"That brat. Ruining everyone's life." Nils hissed. "He was never like that before he came here."

"Huh?" Eliwood asked.

"Luan. One of my apprentices. He and his sister Katan… They changed after coming through the gate. Luan used to be so gentle and caring, while Katan was the wild card, playing pranks on the older dragons. But its like they switched lives or something. Katan became quiet, Luan occasionally a wild card. But then he began to think like Nergal would have, been he a dragon."

Roy started at this. He was tired of hearing about Katan. He excused himself and joined Marth. Marth was sitting on the bed, something in his hands.

"What's that?" Roy asked, sitting next to the blue prince.

"My Christmas gift from Sam." Marth's voice was now hoarse from weeping. Roy looked closer.

It was a simple bracelet that had "Samus Aran" on it. It was orange and purple and didn't fit Marth's wrist. He grabbed Falchion and tied the little bracelet on the hilt so that he wouldn't loose it.

"At least I avenged her. I'm sure Katan won't forgive me. Shall we go visit her?"

"She's gone." Roy looked at his pommel of the Sword of Seals. "She's gone."

Marth shook his head. Roy felt tears running down his own face. _She's gone…

* * *

_

**3 Weeks Later…**

The Dread Isles. Roy looked around. He saw nothing but a large plain that connected to a forest. In the heart of the forest were mountains. That was where the Dragon's Gate was.

"Well, I'll just leave you with Matthew." Nils picked up his heavy bag. They trudged along a trail, not thinking too much for anything but the previously uninhabitable island. Marth trailed behind the two, Falchion resting at his side.

"There's the cottage. I guess we'll stop by. Then I'll have to be leaving you two. If I see Katan back home, I'll send her straight here." Nils huffed. The cottage was small, with whitewashed walls and a red roof. There was a boy in the garden, messing with the plants. He stood and stared at the three travelers.

"Dad! Dad, get out here, Nils is back with a couple of rich looking nobles!" the boy called. A blonde man stepped out of the house, a look of distaste on his face. He sneezed, then looked to the three.

"Well I'll be…" Matthew raised an eyebrow. "If it isn't Nils, Eliwood's boy, and Prince Marth."

Nils hailed to Matthew. "Well met, Matthew." Nils stopped. "Eliwood wanted these two out of the castle for a while. They're both a bit traumatized. I think you're the best person to help."

"Traumatized?" Matthew shook Nils hand.

Nils leaned in close. "Both lost their loves. Christmas Day. One might still be alive, but Marth's girl, they saw her death."

Matthew nodded. "Aye, I've lost two. I guess I can be the best. Chad needs a friend anyways. Odd that I lost them both while in this accursed place…"

The boy, Chad, stared at Marth and Roy, who were barely older than himself. "I'm Chad." He growled.

"Roy." Roy sighed.

"I'm Marth." Marth fiddled with Samus's bracelet.

"Well met, Roy, Marth." Matthew had turned to them. "Now that you're here, I'm going to train you in the ways of the Dread Isles. Now say bye to Nils here."

"Bye Uncle." Roy nodded solemnly to the light blue headed man.

"Bye Nils." Marth remained where he was.

"Bye, boys, and you'd better feel better when I come back." Nils warned. He then hoisted his bag on his back and was gone.

* * *

Matthew worked the boys hard that day so they didn't have time to think about the girls, though they would imagine their voices. At the end of the day, Roy and Marth stole away to the beach, where they sat to watch the sun set. It died in a battle of reds, oranges, yellows, and eventually, blues and purples. The stars appeared slowly in the darkening sky, as if afraid of the battle that had taken place with the colors only moments earlier.

"Katan used to go star gazing." Roy commented. He left out the part about Luan going with her. It was partly his fault, after all, that Samus was… Gone.

Marth smiled. "In a way, I feel that they're still alive. Samus, Katan, Luan, Game, Pichu, Ness, everyone. But we can't reach them. It's impossible with the technology this world has."

"Yeah. I wonder how everyone is doing. Link, Zelda, Peach, Fox, everyone. Heck, even Ganondorf and Bowser. I know I'm going to miss them all. I only got to smash Mario."

"Same here." Marth smiled. Those smiles were going to become rare now. He hadn't cracked a single joke at all since Samus's death. It was too hard for him.

"Well, I suppose we should get back before Matthew sends Chad out to find us." Roy stood, dusting the sand off himself.

"Yeah. Let's go." Marth stood, and the two boys walked back to the cottage. Behind them, a star shined brighter and raced across the sky, shaped as a five pointed star. One could imagine seeing a little pink blob hanging onto it.

* * *

**Elsewhere…**

_"Sir Nix!" a man hurried to his leader, a tall man with a black eye patch over his eye. A large scar ran down his face and onto his neck from the patch. He had unruly blonde hair, bleached in the constant sun and heat. His one eye was pure black, but warmth could be seen beneath the hard exterior look._

"_What is it Fallon?" the man asked._

"_We've found someone. Four actually. Weird characters. Probably couldn't escape the pull and ended up here. Strange thing is, they don't have a ship."_

"_Right. Lead the way, Major." Nix followed Fallon to where a crowd had gathered. A girl stood over the other three, wielding a long sword. She had pure white hair and silver eyes, and wore clothes so tattered that they looked more like rags. Everything she wore was bleached white. Even two of the other creatures on the ground, still unconscious._

_Nix approached the girl, who growled like an animal. "Don't worry little one, what is your name?" he asked, handing her a stick._

_The girl blinked. "Na-name? Name?" She looked at the stick._

"_Yes, what is your name." Nix looked at her as a frightened look crossed her face._

"_Name? I… Don't recall… Nothing… Promise… Promise me…"

* * *

Hmm, I wonder... What's with that ending, eh? I'm sure you can all guess at the ending, lets just see if you're right. What about the pink blob? You can guess that, I know you all can. What's going to happen next, I wonder? There might be a gap between now and the sequel. So you're all going to have to wait till it comes! I'll post the preview this weekend! Keep an eye out for it!_

Roy: Bye everyone! See you around!

Ardath: Bye bye!

Semaj: Erm, I'm back in time for the end. What a coinkodink

Link: So long, folks!

Marth: We'll see you around. We won't be here for the preview, mind you all.

Everyone: May your swords stay sharp!

Pichu: Read & Review!


	11. Preview!

Well, here it is, the preview for **All For One, One For All II: Return**. I'm going to be putting in some song lyrics at the beginning of each chapter, including this one. As for the credits, here they go!

All Nintendo Characters as Themselves

Luan as Himself and Eula

Katan as Herself

Special Thanks to

Nintendo

My sister, for giving me some ideas in her own little way

My parents for not kicking me off the computer

My cat, Izumi, for cheering me up when I was getting mad at the computer

To my loyal reviewers:

RoyalFanatic with five reviews

Silver Ferret with two reviews

Royal Kenya with two reviews

Javier8705 with one review

Psie with one review

and Linksworstnightmare with one review

My friends Christina, James, Alyssea, Buggy, Blake, Nicole, Kristin, Adriane, Edwin, Britney, Cody, Jeff, and everyone else!

Thanks to Ardath, Roy, Marth, Link, and the several special guests we had, including Edward Elric From Fullmetal Alchemist, Eliwood Pherae from Fire Emblem Seven, Rekka no Ken, and my own characters, Katan and Semaj. Also thanks to Young Link and Pichu for their little one liners.

Once again, 90 of the credit goes to Nintendo. I get credit for my characters and the story line. Otherwise, Nintendo is almighty.

Now, for the last time in the First Part of All for One, One for All, I don't own squat, except my OCs, and the story line. Onward, to the preview! (Its so lonely doing this without the rest of the group...)

* * *

_"These wounds won't seem to heal  
This pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase"_ –Evanescence My Immortal

* * *

**1. A New Journey: Recovery**

A boy stood with his back to a tall pine. His auburn hair was like a living flame, threatening to lick the tree and burn it to the ground. In contrast, his eyes were twin cool sapphire blue wells, so deep one could get lost within them. In his brown-gloved hands was his favorite and only sword: The Sword Of Seals.

He turned and swung around the tree. His blade was blocked by another, slimmer blade with a steely ring. His opponent, a prince with navy blue everything: hair, eyes, clothes, and a golden tiara. His weapon, the sword Falchion gleamed in the sunlight, a bracelet dangling from the hilt.

The swordsmen thrust and stabbed. They would grin as they danced the deadly dance of the blade.

"Okay, stop you two, before someone looses an arm or leg. That's good for today." Called a blonde man. He wore a tattered maroon cloak.

"Yes Matthew." The redhead saluted with his blade, like his father had taught him, to his opponent. "Great job today, Prince Marth."

"That's ex-prince, Roy. And you did well yourself." Marth also saluted, a habit he picked up from Roy and his father. Marth hadn't cracked a joke since three and a half years earlier. He still hated Eula, an old man they thought was their friend, and Luan, Roy's girlfriend Katan's brother, although he had killed both to avenged Samus, the bounty hunter Marth had fallen in love with. Roy missed Samus, who had shown him around the Smash Mansion, but he missed Katan the most. Her graceful beauty, her silky obsidian hair, fiery sapphire eyes…

"Thinking about Kat again?" Marth asked, sheathing Falchion. "I doubt she would forgive me for killing her brother. I just couldn't help it…"

"She wouldn't blame you. He did kill Game, try to kill DK and Pichu, and kill-" Roy stopped when Marth looked away, pain written across his face.

"I keep having the same nightmare. Watching Samus getting shot, her soft voice fading to nothing, her emerald eyes going dull…"

Roy smiled weakly, remembering watching as Samus died, on the White Christmas, as they now called it, the Christmas Samus and Luan were killed, Katan disappearing, possibly dead as well, and the last time he had seen Link, Zelda, Peach, and all the other smashers.

"Roy, Marth! Get down!" Matthew tackled the boys.

"What the-" Marth mumbled as his face was pressed into the ground.

"There is something out there." Matthew pointed to the sky. Two gray forms floated above the small plain near the cottage. Chad was still inside, ready to defend the cottage. The forms opened and two smaller forms jumped out. One looked like a fox while the other an avian.

Roy blinked at the two. Bittersweet memories filled his head as he stood and called out. "Fox! Falco!"

The two turned around. They grinned and rushed to the three. Chad appeared in the cottage doorway, armed to the teeth. Marth pushed Matthew off himself so he could breathe again.

"Hey, are you cheating on Katan? And is that Marth too?" Fox snorted. All the same, he bent down and helped Matthew up. "I thought you two were better than that." He clapped Roy on the back after Matthew finally up righted himself.

Falco helped Marth up. "We've been looking for you two all day. We first came in above Altea, which is looking down right ruined. Then we flew to Elibe, and went to Pherae, nearly getting our tails chopped off, but your father has some sense. Told us you were here to cool off."

"More or less." Marth muttered darkly. Falco and Fox looked to Marth. But he ignored their stares.

"Don't mention Samus, at least not around Marth." Roy whispered just enough for the two to hear him. They nodded silently, curiosity covering their faces.

"Who are you?" Matthew drew his iron blade. Fox and Falco's hands strayed near their guns.

"Oh, they're old friends of ours, so put that blade away before you hurt someone." Roy warned Matthew.

"Dad!" Chad was running over. Fox and Falco relaxed as Matthew sheathed his blade.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce them to old Matthew?" Matthew asked, a sly look in his eye.

"Oh, yes. Matthew, Chad, this is Fox and Falco. Fox, Falco, this is Matthew and his son Chad." Marth introduced them.

"Well met, Fox, Falco." Matthew nodded. "I'm not quite sure why you look like what your names are, but if you're friends of Roy and Marth here, you're friends of mine."

"Well met, yourself, old man." Falco grinned.

"Falco, mind your old beak." Fox hissed as Matthew glared daggers at the falcon.

"So why are you guys here?" Roy asked. "We haven't had any contact with anyone for these past three years."

"Well, we didn't either, until about a week ago. Master Hand found us while we were training in our Arwings." Fox started.

"Apparently the Wireframes have gathered under a single lord. They're going to take out as much of Nintendo's lands as possible." Falco added.

"Like I was saying, Master Hand found us. Seeing as we could traverse between the new planets, he wants us to gather the smashers to fight a common enemy. We can contact him from the StarFox. Kirby has also been put on the job, so Master Hand has told us. The Ice Climbers Nana and Popo have already been alerted." Fox finished.

Roy and Marth nodded knowingly, but Matthew and Chad looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, futuristic stuff. Marth and I joined a league far away, with futuristic stuff, such as instant and safer lighting. No fire needed." Roy explained. The two's eyes bulged.

"Wow, instant light! Without fire too. So those things are futuristic too…" Chad pointed to the gray Arwings.

"For you guys, yes." Falco looked at their cottage.

"Anyways, since I don't think you two can get off this planet, why don't you come with us? We're heading for Hyrule next. All we need to do is get Katan…" Fox looked to Roy. But Roy's face was hidden. He looked to Marth, who shook his head.

"She's gone." He whispered. Fox nodded gravely.

"So is Ness." He spoke loud enough for all to hear.

"Pichu will probably be gone too." Roy stated grimly. Falco and Fox turned to him.

"Hm? Pichu too?" Falco looked at Roy.

"Yes. Ness and Pichu were with her when she disappeared." Roy explained, a little haunted. "But we can look for them, since we need all the smashers."

Marth coughed. They wouldn't get all the smashers. Mr. Game and Watch was gone, and so was Samus. Both killed by Luan.

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "So you're leaving?" he asked.

"Yeah, we have to go. To save the planet." Marth looked a bit stronger than he had been in the past three and a half years.

"Well, don't go giving your hopes up, both of you." Chad told them. "And make sure you come back so we can have another spar."

"Sure thing, Chad sir." Roy saluted to the young thief.

Fox and Falco led the way back to the Arwings. They were small and only had enough room for two people. Roy climbed into Fox's Arwing, Marth into Falco's Arwing. Fox handed Roy a set of headphones.

"It makes it easier to speak to the other Arwing." Fox explained when Roy gave him a confused look.

Roy and Marth waved to Matthew and Chad, who stood side by side. "Tell Nils I've gone to help some friends and maybe find Katan!" Roy called. Chad gave him a thumbs up and Matthew simply nodded.

A low whistle began as Fox started up the Arwing. It turned into a whirring sound after a moment of speeding up. Fox pressed several buttons labeled with symbols Roy didn't understand. The Arwing lifted into the air, the ground sinking away beneath them. Matthew and Chad became dots in the middle of a green field. They disappeared as the island began to get swallowed up by the huge endless ocean. Roy took one last glimpse at the Dragon's Gate Mountains, as he called them. Elibe appeared, sinking below them. Far in the distance were the Bernese Mountains, and to the North, the plains of Sacae. Ostia glowed from its perch in the middle of a field. Roy even imagined that he saw Pherae. His father would probably worry.

Finally, the soft blue sky turned dark blue, then pitch black, dappled with pin pricks of light. Nearby, another planet, green with forests and a wide sweeping plain turned slowly. That was the planet Hyrule was on, the forest the Kokiri forest. That was their next destination.

But instead of heading to the green planet, the Arwings turned away towards what looked like the ship above Corneria that some of the smashers had battled on.

"Behold, the mother ship, StarFox." Fox grinned. "My father helped build it."

:_Okay Fox, are we headed to the ship first or what?_: Falco's face appeared on a holographic screen. Marth's appeared next to it.

"Yeah, we need some bigger Arwings if we want to bring all the Hyrulians with us." Fox replied. He pressed more buttons.

"This is Fox in Arwing 15732 to StarFox. We're returning, so open the hatch." Fox called to the mother ship.

:_Welcome back, Fox._: A hare's face appeared. :_We'll clear the docks immediately!_:

"You do that then, Pep. Tell Slippy we also want some larger Arwings made ready for the next trip to Hyrule. We need enough room for about eight people, including Falco and our other two friends with us currently."

:_Yes sir!_: the screen disappeared. After a moment's wait, a compartment on the Star Fox began to slowly open. Fox and Falco gently steered the Arwings into the hanger. With a loud creak, the hanger closed behind them. Only after a _whoosh_! of air, did Fox open the cockpit.

"Leave the headphones in there. I'll get you some better ones while we wait till we can take off." Fox instructed.

"Okay." Roy pulled the headphones off and dropped them on the seat. Then he pulled himself out of the cockpit. This was the first time he was ever in the Star Fox. It had walls made from thick air tight steel, and there was machinery everywhere. Roy could hardly believe he had just come from home, where they didn't even have simple toilets!

"This way." Fox called as Falco and Marth pulled themselves out of Falco's Arwing. The foursome then trudged away to the heart of the Star Fox.

* * *

"_Walk on by  
Walk on through  
Walk 'til you run  
And don't look back  
For here I am_" –U2, Unforgettable Fire

* * *

Well? I hope everyone likes it! 


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